Experimental and CFD Analysis of Twisted Tube Heat Exchanger under Forced Convection

Experimental investigation has been carried out to study the effect of overall heat transfer coefficient in twisted elliptical tube heat exchanger. The main aim of this experimentation is to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient and friction factor of twisted elliptical tubes in multipass arrangement, with water as a working fluid. The experimental model was validated with the computational model. Twisted elliptical tubes with major diameter 18 mm and minor diameter 12 mm with twist pitch 60 mm are used. The material used is commercially pure copper. Reynolds numbers were varied in turbulent zone in the range of 50000 to 350000. Experimental data obtained from test section for different flow rates of water, 0.2 kg/s, 0.147 kg/s, 0.095 kg/s and 0.055 kg/s. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of twisted elliptical tubes for use in applications like automobile radiators, air conditioners or similar type of multipass applications.