HEAT TRANSFER IN A CIRCULAR TUBE FITTED WITH THE PLUS SHAPE TURBULATOR

This research study reports the results of analytical findings on forced convection heat transfer & coefficient of friction characteristics of heated tube fitted with plus shape turbulator (PST) inserts. The working fluid used in this study is atmospheric air at 30°C temperature. The analytical tests were conducted for turbulent flow region within the Reynolds number range of 6000 to 24000 using Ansys fluent software. The parameters investigated were the inclination angle (θ=0°, 10°, 15°, 20° & 25°) and direction of inclination (positive and negative). Parameters like pitch to diameter ratio of 2 and blockage area of 40% are kept constant along with the pipe diameter. The study shows that at an inclination angle of 25° in positive direction at Reynolds number of 24000 gives the maximum rate of convective heat transfer in given range of Reynolds number. It is also established that with increment in Reynolds number the Nusselt number also increases. The increment in the Nusselt number is attributed to dividing flow in four ways