International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology. ISSN 0974-3154, Volume 12, Number 12 (2019), pp. 2587-2591
© International Research Publication House. http://www.irphouse.com
2587
Experimental Study of Heat Transfer in Conical Tube Heat Exchanger
Chirag Maradiya
1*
, Dr. Jeetendra Vadher
2
and Dr. Ramesh Agarwal
3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, L.E.College-Morbi, GTU, Gujarat -363641, India.
ORCID: 0000-0001-9730-8690 (Chirag)
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, GEC-Palanpur, GTU, Gujarat -385001, India.
3
School of Engineering and Applied Science, Washington University in St.Louis, USA.
Abstract
In present experimental analysis, the outer cylindrical tube of
the ordinary concentric tube type heat exchanger was replaced
by conical tube. New conical tubes of different diameter ratios
have been developed by using epoxy resin and glass fiber.
Diameter ratios of conical tubes were 0.882, 0.741, and 0.612.
Experiments were carried out for conical tube heat exchanger
of length 1 meter. The flow rate of water for inner tube
considered 1LPM and for outer conical tube 1 LPM to 7 LPM.
The heat transfer results of conical tubes were analysed and
compared with the results of cylindrical tubes. Results reveal
that the rate of heat transfer is inversely proportional to
diameter ratio. A correlation was developed for a HTR of
water flowing through outer conical tubes. Results revealed a
rise of heat transfer rate up to 22%.
Keywords: conical tube, heat transfer, regression analysis,
heat exchanger
I. INTRODUCTION
Heat transfer equipment is required for the exchange and
recapture of thermal energy in many commercial and
household appliances. Few industrial applications i.e. heating
and cooling of dairy products, heat recovery system,
processing of juice as well raw fruit in food industries, power
plant’s vapor condensation process, heat transfer processes
involved in chemical and pharmaceutical companies, Liquid
heating in the concentrated solar collector and cooling of
electronic devices and electrical equipment among others.
Therefore, to ensure the economy of cost & energy, efficient
functioning of heat transfer equipment is of prime interest.
Thermal resistance is inversely proportional to effective
surface area & turbulence of fluid. Majority of heat transfer
improvement methods focuses on reducing thermal resistance
by using fins/rough surfaces for improving effective surface
area & inserts, winglets, etc. for ensuring turbulence within
the fluid.[1].
The heat transfer enhanced significantly when coil-wire was
inserted in the inner tube. Naphon[2] observed that the coil-
wire performed better, especially for the laminar region.
Eiamsa-ard et al. [3] experimentally analyzed the heat transfer
properties in heat exchanger having concentric tube
arrangement equipped with twisted tape which are regularly
spaced. Their results revealed that rise of the heat transfer co-
efficient is directly proportional to twist ratio. Selvam et
al.[4]conducted experiment having turbulator like Wire
coiled-matrix used as an insert in the tube - tube heat
exchanger. Their study revealed that a reduction in the pitch
has a positive influence on the rate of heat transfer (HTR).
Eiamsa-ard et al.[5] experimentally examined the HTR by
commissioning louvered strips inside the double tube heat
exchanger. Experimental results revealed that the application
of inclined forward louvered strip rises the HTR by 2.84 to
4.13 times. Pourahmad and Pesteei [6]conducted experiments
on the concentric tube heat exchanger in which wavy strips
have been inserted at various angles to rise the HTR. It has
been perceived that the performance of the heat exchanger
improves with strip angle. Murugesan et al. [7]analyzed
twisted tape with a trapezoidal cut on the periphery and
observed the characteristics of heat transfer. From the results
conclusion has made that, the HTR increase from 1.2 to 2
times for different configuration of twisted tape.
Shirvan et al.[8]analyzed the effectiveness of double-tube heat
exchanger by mathematical model. They used nanofluid to
enhance heat transfer and Response Surface Methodology to
sensitivity analysis. Sheikholeslami et al. [9] conducted
experiments to confirmed the outcome in terms of the HTR
with use of discontinuous helical turbulators in tube-tube heat
exchanger. Typical and perforated helical turbulators placed
on the annulus side of the tube to enhance the HTR. Li et
al.[10] studied the effectiveness of double tube heat exchanger
in which helical fins were attached on the shell side along
with vortex generators. Their results revealed that the
compound technique has better performance than the shell
side only attached with helical fins. Webnin et al. [11]
introduced the small pipe insert placed consecutively in a
concentric tube heat exchanger. The result of the experiments
revealed that the HTR enhanced by 2.09-2.67 times with pipe
inserts. Dizaji et al.[12] used a corrugated outer tube instead
of a straight cylindrical tube. The experiments were conducted
with Reynold number ranging from 3500 to 18000 and results
reveals that maximum effectiveness obtains with outer tube as
concave corrugated and inner tube having convex corrugated
shape. Heat transfer rates in a double tube heat exchanger
equipped with wire coil inserts in annulus space have been
analyzed by Zohir et al.[13]. They investigated the influence