An Experimental and CFD Analysis on Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Characteristics of a Tube Equipped with X-Shaped Tape Insert in a U-Shaped Heat Exchanger

In this chapter, the performance of a heat exchanger equipped with X-shaped tape insert was investigated and reported. Experimental investigation was performed to calculate overall heat transfer coefficient, effectiveness, friction factor and pressure drop of the fluid flowing through U-tube fitted with X-shaped tape insert. Mild steel was used to manufacture X-shaped tape insert due to the ease of availability and machinability. Two X-shaped tape insert of 1 m length each was incorporated in the U-shaped tube of length 2.4 m. Resistance thermometers were employed to measure the temperature of the working fluid at the inlet and the outlet of the test section. It was evident that the turbulence (R_e > 4000) created by the X-shaped tape insert in the fluid, enhanced the heat transfer of the system. The results showed that the heat transfer rate and overall heat transfer coefficient of U-shaped tube fitted with X-shaped tape insert were 2.5 times and 3.15 times, respectively, than the U-shaped tube without the insert. The experimental data were substantiated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The simulated results supported the experimental results with an error ranging from 2 to 5%.