Numerical Evaluation of Using Metal Foam Twisted Tape in Outer Side of a Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24237/djes.2024.18206Keywords:
Metal foam, Twisted tape, Thermal performance, Heat ExchangerAbstract
This study presents a comprehensive numerical investigation into the thermal and hydraulic performance of a double-pipe heat exchanger equipped with various twisted tape configurations, including metal foam twisted tape, conventional (smooth) twisted tape, and porous media inserts. The analysis is conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS Fluent under steady-state conditions, with air and water as the working fluids. Key parameters such as outlet temperature, pressure drop, Nusselt number, thermal performance factor (TPF), and the pitch-to-height ratio (Pt/W = 3.6, 5.2, and 6.8) are evaluated over a wide range of Reynolds numbers (500 < Re < 13,000). The study explores three distinct cases with different external fin configurations to assess the impact of geometric design on heat transfer enhancement. The results indicate a significant improvement in thermal performance when using twisted tape inserts. Conventional twisted tape enhances heat transfer by up to 33% compared to a plain tube; while metal foam twisted tape achieves a 37% enhancement. Furthermore, metal foam twisted tape demonstrates an 11.2% superior thermal performance over conventional twisted tape, particularly in the laminar flow regime. However, at higher velocities (i.e., higher Reynolds numbers), the difference in performance decreases due to flow choking within the metal foam matrix. Maximum heat transfer augmentation is observed before the transition to turbulent flow, after which the performance gradually declines.
Downloads
References
[1] Baragh, S.; Shokouhmand, H.; Ajarostaghi, S.S.M.; Nikian, M. An experimental investigation on forced convection heat transfer of single‐phase flow in a channel with different arrangements of porous media. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 2018, 134, 370–379, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2018.03.017.
[2] Hasan DJ, Farhan AA. The effect of staggered porous fins on the performance of photovoltaic panel in Baghdad. J Eng. 2020; 26:1‐13. doi: 10.31026/j.eng.2020.08.01
[3] Baragh, S.; Shokouhmand, H.; Ajarostaghi, S.S.M. Experiments on mist flow and heat transfer in a pipe fitted with porous media. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 2019, 137, 388–398, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2018.11.017.
[4] Ajarostaghi, S.S.M.; Delavar, M.A.; Poncet, S. Thermal mixing, cooling and entropy generation in a micromixer with a porous zone by the lattice Boltzmann method. J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 2020, 140, 1321–1339, DOI: 10.1007/s10973-019-08956-2.
[5] Issam M. A. Aljubury, Raed G. Saihood, Ammar A. Farhan “Experimental study on thermo‐hydraulic performance of metal foam twisted tape in a double pipe heat exchanger” Wiley Periodicals LLC. Heat Transfer. 2022; 51:7910–7928, DOI: 10.1002/htj.22256.
[6] K. Ahmed, O. Le, I. Andri, A. Pina, and J. Fournier, “ScienceDirect ScienceDirect study heat transfer enhancement and fluid flow 15th of CFD study of heat enhancement and fluid flow characteristics of laminar flow through the pipe with helical helical screw tape t,” Energy Procedia, vol. 160, pp. 699–706, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.190.
[7] P. Li, Z. Liu, W. Liu, and G. Chen, “Numerical study on heat transfer enhancement characteristics of pipe inserted with centrally hollow narrow twisted tapes,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 88, pp. 481–491, 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2015.04.103.
[8] C. T. P. Eiamsa-ard and S. Eiamsa-ard, “Heat transfer and thermal performance characteristics of heat exchanger pipe fitted with perforated twisted-tapes,” pp. 881–892, 2012, doi: 10.1007/s00231-011-0943-0.
[9] Jasim M. Mahdi, et al “Intensifying the thermal response of PCM via fin-assisted foam strips in the shell-and-tube heat storage system” Journal of Energy Storage.Volume 45, January 2022, 103733, DOI: 10.1016/j.est.2021.103733.
[10] Abdul Hadi N. Khalifa, Issam Mohammed Ali, Atheer Saleh Hassoon “Exergy Analysis of Refrigeration Cycle With Open-Cell Metal Foam Condenser” Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST) ISSN: 2458-9403 Vol. 3 Issue 4, April – 2016, DOI: 10.17561/jmest. v3i4.1060.
[11] ASH Abdul Hadi N. Khalifa, Issam M.Ali “Experimental Study the Performance of Aluminum Foams Condensers in the Vapor Compression Cycle” International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology 5 (4), 600-605, DOI: 10.14741/ijcet/v.5.4.600.
[12] Issam Mohammed Ali, et al “Experimental Investigation of Forced Convection Heat Transfer in Open Cell Copper Fins” Al-Nahrain Journal for Engineering Sciences (NJES) Vol.20 No.1, 0217 pp.272 – 280, DOI: 10.29194/ANJES.200100272.
[13] A. M. A. AL Kareem, "Study the Effect of Using Different Types of Twisted Tapes on Thermal Performance in Solar Collector," M.S. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Techniques in Power, Technical College, July 2020, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35847.70564.
[14] Frank M. White “Fluid Mechanics” McGraw-Hill Series in Mechanical Engineering, Fourth Edition, 1991. PP: 219.
[15] Versteeg HK and Malalasekera V, 2007. “An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: The Finite Volume Method”, Second Edition, Pearson Education Limited 1995, 2007
[16] R.L.Webb, N.H. Kim, Principles of Enhanced Heat Transfer, second ed., Taylor& Francis Group, New York, 2005.
[17] Frank M. White “Fluid Mechanics” McGraw-Hill Series in Mechanical Engineering, Fourth Edition, 1991. PP: 219.
[18] Rajendra Karwa “Performance Evaluation Criterion at Equal Pumping Power forEnhanced Performance Heat Transfer Surfaces” Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Solar Energy Volume 2013, Article ID 370823, 9 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/370823,
[19] F. R. Menter, "Two-Equation Eddy-Viscosity Turbulence Models for Engineering Applications," AIAA Journal, vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 1598–1605, Aug. 1994. doi: 10.2514/3.12149.
[20] Brown, R., & Lee, S. (2018). Structural Analysis of Heat Exchanger Designs. International Journal of Heat Transfer, 25(3), 123-135.
[21] Johnson, T., & Smith, R. (2021). A Controlled Order Cell Type for Precise Mesh Control in Computational Fluid Dynamics. Journal of Computational Physics, 150(2), 245-259
[22] Smith, J., & Johnson, A. (2020). Experimental Study on Heat Transfer Enhancement Using Copper Twisted Tapes and Tubes. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 35(2), 123-135.
[23] Brown, A., & Lee, S. (2019). Assessing Simulation Accuracy: A Comparative Analysis between Numerical Results and Equations. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics (pp. 120-135). Springer.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Hassan Hikmat, Issam M. Ali
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
