• r~ Applied Energy, Vol. 54, No.

1, 49 56, 1996
Copyright % 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0306-2619/96/$15.00 + .00
ELSEVIER 0306-2619(95)00070-4

Influence of Fluid Rotation on the Heat Transfer and

Pressure Drop in Double-Pipe Heat Exchangers

Cengiz Yildiz, Ya~ar Biger & Dursun Pehllvan

Firat University, Engineering Faculty, 23279, Elazi~, Turkey

ABSTRACT

In this' work the effect of propellers, which were able to rotate freely due
to the force exerted by the fluid flowing through the inner pipe of the
double-pipe heat exchangers, on the heat transfer and pressure was
investigated expermentally. The experiments were undertaken for the
Reynolds number range of 2500-15000 and for several propellers. In
the system, heat-transfer rates were about 250% better than those found
with the system without propellers. Thus, because of rotating the fluid,
propellers and their number become influential upon heat transfer. The
increase in pressure-drop changed between 500 and 1000% in comparison
with that for the empty tube, depending on Reynolds number and number of
propellers. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

NOMENCLATURE

G Specific heat capacity of the fluid (kJ/kgK)

DH Equivalent hydraulic radius (m)
F Heat-transfer surface (m 2)
h Heat-transfer coefficient (W/m2K)
k Thermal conductivity (W/mK)
Nu Nusselt number
m Mass flow rate (kg/s)
Q Heat-transfer rate (kW)
Re Reynolds number
T Temperature (K)
U Linear flow rate (m/s)
Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)
T Temperature drop in the fluid (K)
Tm Logarithmic mean tempearature difference (K)
49
50 C. Yildiz et al.

Subscripts
c Cold fluid
h Hot fluid
t Total

INTRODUCTION

Recently, considerable developments have been recorded on the subject of

increasing heat transfers, especially in heat-exchanger applications. In the
light of economic considerations, efforts to transfer more heat from the
surfaces have been made, with the objective of constructing smaller and
cheaper but more efficient heat exchangers. 1-3
Active and/or passive methods are used to improve the rate of heat
transfer. 4 Various studies have been directed towards reducing the
boundary-layer thickness, in order to enhance the rate of heat transfer by
the passive method. 5-7
The thermal boundary-layer is of prime importance in heat transfers
between the fluid and the tube wall. It is associated with the type of flow of
the fluid, and its thickness is greater in laminar flow. Thus, heat transfers
in turbulent flow tend to occur faster than those in laminar flow due to
both the smaller thickness of the thermal boundary layer and the eddies'
transporting thermal energy very quickly from place to place in the
turbulent core of the flow. In this case, the net result is an enhanced heat
transfer between the fluid and the tube wall. It is, therefore, the purpose
of this study to determine the effect of rotation on the heat transfer in a
system equipped with propellers to agitate the fluid.
The propellers placed inside the tube are supposed to be effective in
the vicinity of the tube wall, where the thermal resistance is high. Their
expected role is to mix and rotate the fluid in this region as well as causing
increased viscous dissipation, thereby enhancing the heat-transfer rate.

THE M E T H O D

In the heat-transfer calculations, the thin-wall approach was applied.

Neglecting the thermal resistance of the tube thickness, only the fluid
temperature was of significance. 8,9 In this simple model, the heat given by
the hot fluid at any Reynolds number is
Qh = mh Cph Th (1)
while the heat transferred to the cold fluid is
 Heat transfer and pressure drop in double-pipe heat exchangers 51

Qc = mcCp c Tc (2)

As usual, this heat m a y be expressed in terms of a heat transfer coefficient

and in-tube m e a n temperature difference Tin:

Qt = h F A Tm (3)

By using these equations, heat-transfer coefficients were deduced and

Nusselt numbers were calculated as follows: t°:l

hDh
N= k (4)

F o r the hot and cold fluids, the Reynolds numbers are

uDh
Re = (5)
1:

EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP

The effect of the propellers on the heat transfer in the inner pipe of a
double-pipe heat exchanger was studied (see Fig. 1). The inner diameters
of the inner and outer tubes were 50 and 70 m m , respectively, and their
lengths were 1100 m m . The tubes were standard iron boiler tubes. Their
wall thickness was 3 m m . H o t fluid (i.e. air) flowed through the inner tube,

Pro~rs Insulation U Manometers

The

Heater
fan

Fig. 1. The experimental set-up.

52 C. Yildiz et al.

while cold fluid (i.e. water) was flowing through the annulus. The heating
of the inlet air was by an electrical heater, the energy input of which was
adjusted with the help of a variable-output voltage transformer. The inlet
and outlet temperatures of the air and the water and of certain points
along the tube surface were measured with a multi-channel temperature-
measurement unit in conjuction with iron-Constantan thermocouples.
The propellers to be placed inside the inner tube were made from thin
galvanized-iron plates and their nominal diameter was 40 mm. They had
four blades with the outward angle of 45 ° and a 2 m m hole at the centre to
locate them on a 2.2 m m carrying wire located along the tube axis. They
were placed, following each other, on this wire so as they could rotate
freely as a reult of the impact of the fluid. In the first and second set of
experiments, respectively, l0 and 5 propellers were placed on the wire. The
volumetric flow rates of the fluids were adjusted by the appropriate rota-
meters and valves situated before the inlet ports. Pressure taps for
measuring pressure drops were also provided at the inlet and outlet ends
of the tubes, and they were connected to the two U manometers, one of
which was filled with water and used to measure the air-side pressure
drop. The other was used for the water-side pressure drop, and its
manometer liquid was mercury.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

With the values obtained from the air side experimental data, the changes
in Nusselt numbers with Reynolds numbers were drawn for both parallel
and countercurrent flow of the fluids, as shown in Figs 2 and 3, respec-
tively.
In the case of the countercurrent flow, the average increase in Nusselt
number was 200% in comparision with that for the empty tube, when 10
propellers were used. This increase was found to be approximately 140%
for the 5 propellers set on the wire, as seen in the figures. F r o m the figures,
it is also seen that the effect of propellers on the heat transfer is less for
low Reynolds numbers. Thus, the increase in Nusselt number was low at
smaller Reynolds numbers, while it became greater at high Reynolds
numbers. This effect is related to the speed of rotation of the propellers
and results from the breakdown of the boundary layer in a shorter time.
Although similar increases are found for parallel flow of the fluids as
shown in Fig. 3, this improvement is 10-20% lower than that for the
countercurrent flow. This may be explained by the fact that the average
difference in temperature of the fluids in the parallel flow is somewhat
smaller than that in the countercurrent flow.12
 Heat transfer and pressure drop in double-pipe heat exchangers 53

1 O0

Nu
80

0
60 o
o
,o,
mm
[]
40 o
U
n
n [] [] Empty tube
20 i o 5 propellers
10 propellers

I | I " I

PO0 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000

Re
Fig. 2. The relation between Nu and Re numbers for the counter-flow heat exchanger
equipped with propellers.

80
Nu
70

60 o
o
50 o
• 0

o n
40 mn
<> n
o M
30 o u
n
[]
u
Empty tube
20 t
5 propellers
10
10 propellers

0 I I I I

2000 4000 6000 8000 1 0000 12 tO0

Re
Fig. 3. The relation between Nu and Re numbers for the parallel flow heat exchanger
equipped with propellers.
54 C. Yildiz et al.

10

AP • 0 0
(kPA) O
0
0
0
0 m
[] II
III
II
0
B
II
.I
[] Empty tube
I
o 5 propellers

• 10 propellers

.01 I ! I I

2 PO0 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000

Re
Fig. 4. The change in pressure drop with Re numbers in the exchanger equipped with
propellers.

The change in pressure drop with increasing Reynolds number is

depicted in Fig. 4. It can be seen that a great increase in pressure drop
occurs when rotating propellers are placed in the way of the flowing fluid.
This results mainly from the dissipation of the dynamical pressure of the
fluid due to the very high viscous losses near the propellers.
The difference in pressure drop between the 5 propellers setting and the
empty tube is less at low Reynolds numbers, while those between the 10
and 5 propellers setting tend to decrease with Reynolds number. This is
consistent with the form friction occurring at high Reynolds numbers. 12
It can also be predicted that each propeller causes an approximately
onefold increase in pressure drop at low Reynolds numbers. Thus, the
increase is about 5 times for the 5 propellers system and 10 times for
10 propellers system.
Although, the propellers cause the loss of flow energy of the fluid, this
loss is seen to be very much lower, especially at low Reynolds numbers,
than the net heat energy gained by the propellers. This gain decreases with
Reynolds number, and in counter current flow it is about 20% higher than
for the parallel flow, as shown in Fig. 5. It would also be possible that,
using different types of propellers with the proper setting angles and a
better positioning in the heat-exchanger tube, to reduce the pressure drop
and increase the net heat gain.
 Heat transfer and pressure drop in double-pipe heat exchangers 55

1 O0

El Countercurrenl flow
o
• Par al l el f l o w
L
¢l
W []
r:l
¢,
i,=
10
=-..
¢=
,lm

[]
¢1 • G
[]
¢, • a
=
I I I I I

2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000

Re
Fig. 5. The relation between the Re number and ratio of the net heat gained by the
propellers to the pressure loss in the exchanger tube with 10 propellers.

CONCLUSIONS

From the results of this study, the following conclusions can be drawn:

(1) The heat-transfer rates in the double-pipe heat exchangers may be

increased up to 250% by giving rotation to the fluid with the help of
the propellers.
(2) Further improvements may be achieved with increasing number of
propellers and Reynolds numbers.
(3) Propellers placed in the heat-exchanger tube cause considerable
increases in pressure drop; but, the rate of energy loss due to this
drop is small in comparison with the net rate of heat transfer gained
by the presence of the propellers.
(4) Future work is recommended to optimize the system characteristics
with respect to such factors as propeller dimensions, positioning in
the heat-exchanger tube, outward angle of propeller and the mode
of rotation.
56 c. Yildiz et al.

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