International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 09 Issue: 06 | June 2022 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2018, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 3178
Investigation of a Double Tube Heat Exchanger with Dimples
Wael I. A. Aly, Nermin Mahmoud*, A.G. Gomaa, Ashraf Mimi Elsaid
Department of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology, Faculty of Technology and Education, Helwan
University, 11282, Cairo, Egypt
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Abstract - The experimental investigation of the double
concentric-tube heat exchanger is presented with inner
tube dimples. The internal tube side heat transport
enhancement characteristics of double tube heat
exchangers composed of a dimpled tube with an elliptic
shape that are investigated experimentally in the range of
Reynolds number from 2570 to 14405 for inner tube fluid
while for outer tube fluid is 1477 to 8103. The purpose is
to present a clear view of the thermofluid characteristics
of this type of heat exchanger with different key design
parameters leading to design optimization. The effects of
dimple angles on the inner tube side thermo fluid
characteristics are also explored. The effectiveness,
number of transfer units, and Nusselt number of the
double tube heat exchanger with dimples are higher than
that of the double tube heat exchanger without dimples by
approximately 87%, 107.8% and 53%, respectively.
Key Words: Double tube, Dimple tube, Cooling
performance, Heat exchangers.
1. INTRODUCTION
The need to achieve high thermo-hydraulic performance
and compact heat exchangers have pushed a Lot of
industries to find new ways to promote heat transfer of
double tube heat exchanger [1-7]. Applying dimpled
surface is one of the passive techniques for heat transfer
enhancement of double tube heat exchanger. In this
respect, the dimpled surface has emerged as one way to
increase thermo-hydraulic performance. The improved
characters create rotating and secondary flows that
increase the effectiveness of the heat transfer area of a
double tube heat exchanger. It interrupts thermal and
velocity boundary layer development with increasing
degrees of turbulence close to the rough tube wall. These
accompanying increases the convective heat transfer
constant (h) with a resultant increase in the pressure drop
on the tube.
Sarmadian et al. [8] investigated condensation heat
transfer in a helically dimpled tube using refrigerant R-
600a as a working fluid. Their results showed that the heat
transfer rate was increased up to two times greater than
that of a smooth straight tube. Ming Li et al. [9] examined
the thermo-hydraulic performance of a dimpled tube in
steady-state single-phase (liquid-to-liquid) fluid flow for
Reynolds numbers ranging from 500 to 8000 and for a
water/glycol. Shuai Xie et al. [10] studied the heat transfer
and thermal performance of enhanced tube with cross
ellipsoidal dimples. They observed that the cross
ellipsoidal dimples induced the transverse and
longitudinal dimples, which caused the reattachment and
periodic impingement flows that helped improve thermal
performance. Aroonrat and Wong wises [11] studied the
effect of dimpled depth on heat transfer enhancement,
pressure loss and overall performance of dimpled tubes.
Their results showed that the dimpled tube with the
largest dimpled depth gave the highest heat transfer
enhancement and pressure loss up to 83 and 892% over
those of the smooth tube. Recently, nanofluids were
applied in dimpled tubes for further heat transfer
enhancement. In the present study, a thermo-hydraulic
performance of a dimpled tube heat exchanger is
investigated. The effects of a dimpled tube with dimple
angles of 45˚, 60˚ and plain tube are studied.
2. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND PROCEDURES
The experimental setup includes a double dimpled tube
heat exchanger and three circuits, namely, closed loop
chilled water cycle, R-22 vapor compression refrigeration
cycle, and closed loop hot water cycle. The double dimpled
tube heat exchanger made of copper with a thickness of 1
mm, and a length of 1100 mm associated with the
necessary measuring instruments. The inner tube
diameter is 18 mm, and the outer tube diameter is 20 mm.
The geometrical characteristics data of the double dimpled
tube heat exchanger are given in Table [1]. Two fluids are
being considered which are chilled water in the outer tube
and hot water in the inner tube of the heat exchanger. The
chilled water system includes a 0.5 m
3
thermally insulated
tank, and a cooling system that is controlled by adjusting a
temperature controller, the chilled water is generated by
the cooling system. The closed loop hot water cycle
consists of a 0.56 m
3
thermally insulated tank
supplied with 5 electrical heaters with total power of 7.5
kW and an adjustable temperature controller. Figure [1]
shows a photograph of the experimental setup and the
double tube heat exchanger. The setup contains two