CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS VOL. 52, 2016 A publication of The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering Online at www.aidic.it/cet Guest Editors: Petar Sabev Varbanov, Peng-Yen Liew, Jun-Yow Yong, Jiří Jaromír Klemeš, Hon Loong Lam Copyright © 2016, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l., ISBN 978-88-95608-42-6; ISSN 2283-9216 Comparison of Heat Exchanger Designs Using Vipertex 1EHT Enhanced Heat Transfer Tubes David J. Kukulka* a , Rick Smith b a State University of New York College at Buffalo, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, 14222 USA, kukulkdj@buffalostate.edu b Vipertex, 658 Ohio Street, Buffalo New York. USA A numeric study was performed that compares the performance of heat exchangers using the Vipertex 1EHT enhanced heat transfer tubes to the performance of heat exchangers that use smooth surface tubes. Heat transfer enhancement is an important factor in obtaining energy efficiency improvements in all heat transfer applications. Surface enhancement of the 1EHT tube is accomplished through the use of the primary dimple enhancement and the secondary background pattern made up of petal arrays. Utilization of enhanced heat transfer tubes is an effective method that is utilized in the development of high performance thermal systems. Vipertex™ enhanced surfaces, have been designed and produced through material surf ace modifications that produce flow optimized heat transfer tubes that increase heat transfer. Current energy demands and the desire to increase efficiencies of systems have prompted the development of enhanced heat transfer surfaces. Enhanced heat transfer tubes are widely used in many areas (refrigeration, air-conditioning, petro-chemical, chemical, etc.) in order to reduce cost and create a smaller application footprint. A new type of enhanced heat transfer tube has been created; therefore it is important to investigate relevant heat exchanger designs using the Vipertex 1EHT enhanced surface tube in industrial applications and compare that performance to other tubes. Results include design characteristics and performance predictions using the design simulations produced using HTRI Exchanger Suite (2016). Performance for all cases considered using the 1EHT tube predicted over performance when compared to a smooth tube design. Vipertex 1EHT tubes produced higher performance and more efficient designs. 1. Introduction Enhanced heat transfer surfaces increase performance through a combination of: increased turbulence; boundary layer disruption; secondary flow generation and increased heat transfer surface area. These factors lead to an increase in the heat transfer coefficient; smaller unit footprint; more economic operation costs and a prolonged product life. There are a few different scenarios to be considered in heat exchanger optimization. In the case of a one-for-one replacement of smooth tubes with enhanced tubes of equal length; there is an increase in heat transfer for a constant fluid flow rate. Typically this is accomplished with an increase to the pumping power of the enhanced tube heat exchanger since there is increased friction. Another scenario to consider is constant pumping power designs; in this case the tube length could be reduced. Finally for the case of constant heat transfer, the use of enhanced tubes will reduce the pumping power requirements. Gough (2012) discusses the increased demand on the performance of heat exchangers and the need to enhance their performance. Many industrial processes that involve the transfer of heat energy employ old technology; making them ideal candidates for a redesign utilizing enhanced surfaces that improve process performance. Vipertex™ optimized several enhanced heat transfer tubes. Heat transfer enhancement using the Vipertex EHT series of tubes provides a means to significantly advance many heat exchange processes; with the greatest enhancements seen at low flows with approximately a 100 % increase in heat transfer shown for other regions. Utilization of enhanced heat transfer tubes is necessary in the development of high performance thermal systems. Their use will allow a reduction in the cooling fluid mass flow rate required to DOI: 10.3303/CET1652020 Please cite this article as: Kukulka D. J., Smith R., 2016, Comparison of heat exchanger designs using vipertex 1eht enhanced heat transfer tubes, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 52, 115-120 DOI:10.3303/CET1652020 115