IJRMET Vol.

3, Issue 2, May - Oct 2013 ISSN : 2249-5762 (Online) | ISSN : 2249-5770 (Print)

Enhancement of Heat Transfer With Conical Hole Filament

Insert in a Flow through Circular Tube
1
Monis Abdulmanan Abdullah, 2V. N. Kapatkar
1,2
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, SCOE, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Abstract which can result in a saving of operating costs.

In many engineering applications the high-performance thermal
systems are needed and thus, various methods to improve heat A. Heat Transfer Enhancement Techniques
transfer in the system have been developed extensively. To Enhancement techniques can be separated into two categories:
date, many studies have been focused on passive heat-transfer
enhancement methods and the fluid flow. In this research work, 1. Passive Techniques
a new technique of heat transfer enhancement is proposed, which Passive methods require no direct application of external power.
contains a filament having holes with conical geometry. The holes Instead, passive techniques employ special surface geometries
present on the filament inserts are having convergent and divergent or fluid additives which cause heat transfer enhancement. These
cross-section. The newly designed filament inserts are compared techniques modify the heat transfer surface or incorporate an
with filament inserts having straight hole at various pitch ratios. It additional device into equipment. The existing flow mechanism is
has been clearly observed that the new passive technique proposed disturbed and the heat transfer performance is improved. But this is
in this dissertation shows substantial increase in heat transfer accompanied by an increase in the flow friction and pressure drop.
rate over the plain tube and tube with filament inserts having The majority of commercially interesting enhancement techniques
straight holes. are passive ones. The passive techniques are normally classified
into the following types:
Keywords • Treated surfaces
Heat Transfer Enhancement, Passive Technique, Filament • Rough surfaces
Inserts • Extended surfaces
• Displaced surfaces
I. Introduction • Swirl-flow services
Towards the goal of improved thermal management, heat transfer • Surface tension devices
augmentation is a subject of vital importance in increasing the • Additives for liquids
heat transfer rate and achieving higher efficiency. The interesting • Additives for gases
features of the insert is always to reduce the cost of heat transfer
process and its promising potential in many heat transfer 2. Active Techniques
applications such as heat exchangers, nuclear reactors, solar Active augmentation techniques, which have also been studied
heaters, gas turbines and combustion chambers have promoted extensively, require the addition of external power to bring about
abundant studies. the desired flow modification. Active techniques have attracted
The study of enhanced heat transfer has gained serious momentum little commercial interest because of the costs involved, and the
during recent years, however due to increased demands by problems that are associated with vibration or acoustic noise.
industry for heat exchange equipment that is less expensive to These include the following types:
build and operate than standard heat exchange devices. Savings • Mechanical aids
in materials and energy use also provide strong motivation for • Surface vibrations
the development of improved methods of enhancement. When • Fluid vibrations
designing cooling systems for automobiles and spacecraft, it is • Electrostatic fields
imperative that the heat exchangers are especially compact and • Injection
lightweight. Enhancement devices are necessary for the high heat • Suction
duty exchangers found in power plants (i.e. air-cooled condensers, Usually two or more of the above techniques may be utilized
nuclear fuel rods). These applications, as well as numerous others, simultaneously to produce an enhancement larger than that
have led to the development of various enhanced heat transfer produced by only one technique.
surfaces. In general, enhanced heat transfer surfaces can be used
for three purposes: II. Experimental Setup
• To make heat exchangers more compact in order to reduce In this experimental setup that uses for forced convection heat
their overall volume, and possibly their cost, transfer is explained. The experiment is carried out in an open-loop
• To reduce the pumping power required for a given heat experimental facility, Calming region is provided after the blower
transfer process, or exit of specified length. The test tube is provided with flange ends
• To increase the overall heat transfer coefficient value of the at both sides to assemble and disassemble the filament insert easily.
heat exchanger. The tube was heated by flexible electrical wire provided a uniform
A higher overall heat transfer coefficient value can be exploited heat flux boundary condition. The outer surface of the test tube
in either of two ways: was well insulated with leak proof joints. Figure 1, shows the
• To obtain an increased heat exchange rate for fixed fluid inlet actual photograph of the experimental test setup.
temperatures, or
• To reduce the mean temperature difference for the heat
exchange, this increases the thermodynamic process efficiency

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ISSN : 2249-5762 (Online) | ISSN : 2249-5770 (Print) IJRMET Vol. 3, Issue 2, May - Oct 2013

Mean temperature ( ) in (°C)

(1)
When is the inlet air temperature in (°C) is the outlet air
temperature in (°C)

Temperature different ( ) in (°C)

Fig. 1: Schematic Filament Insert Assembly With Different Pitch
Ratio (2)
When is the inlet air temperature in (°C) is the outlet air
temperature in (°C)
Average surface temperature ( ) in (°C)

(3)
When , , , , and are surface temperature in
Fig. 2: Actual Filament Inserts Assembly (°C)
Volume flow rate ( ) in (m³/sec)
The test section (test tube) is made of seamless steel tube with (4)
1500 mm length, inner diameter is 36 mm and outer diameter is When is the velocity of air in (m/sec) is the cross section
42 mm. The test tube is provided with flange ends at both sides. area of tube in (m²)
This will facilitate to assemble and disassemble the filament insert Mass flow rate ( ) in (kg/sec) (5)
conveniently. When is the volume flow rate of air in (m³/sec)
The tube was heated by continuously winding flexible electrical is the density of air at mean temperature in (kg/m³)
wire (heater of 500 Watts) which provides the uniform heat flux Reynolds number ( )
boundary condition. The electrical output power was controlled
by a various transformer to obtain a constant heat flux along the
entire length of test section and by keeping the current less than (6)
3ampire. When is the velocity of air in (m/sec) is the hydraulic
The outer surface of the tube was well insulated to minimize diameter of tube in (m) is the kinematic viscosity of air at
convective heat loss to surrounding and necessary precautions mean temperature (m²/sec)
were taken to prevent the leakages (working fluid as well as Prandtl number ( ) given at the mean temperature of air
electric current) from the system. The two thermocouples Nusslt number ( )
(copper- constantan), one at the inlet side and another at out let
side of the test section and the remaining six on the surface of (7)
test tube (approximately 165 mm apart) were placed to measure When is Reynolds number is Prandtl number
the temperature with the help of multi-channel temperature Heat transfer coefficient ( ) in (W/m².k)
measurement unit. The filament insert assemble (all made up of
aluminum) is sung fitted inside the test tube. (8)

III. Test Procedure When Nu is Nusslt number

Initially the testing has been carried out without filament inserts, is the thermal conductivity of air at mean temperature in (W/m.k)
i.e. for plain tube only. The heater input voltage was set for is the hydraulic diameter of tube in (m)
different voltages. The blower is started and mass flow rate of air Heat transfer rate ( ) in (Watts) (9)
is adjusted suitably with the help of gate valve to have turbulent When heat transfer coefficient in (W/m².k)
flow. Before taking the readings the steady state condition is convection area in (m²)
maintained (approximately 2 hours are required to achieve steady temperature different in (co)
state condition).
The temperature readings T0 (Ambient temperature), T1 (Air Pressure drop ( )in (Pascal), case of plain tube
temperature at inlet side), T8 (Air temperature at outlet side),
and T2 to T7 (temperatures at different location in test section)
were recorded for different heater voltage input along with the (10)
pressure drop. For every heater input (voltage input), such six When is friction factor
sets of readings are taken at an interval of 10 minute each. The is the length of the tube in (m)
results for each case are tabulated next to observation table. Similar is the density of air at mean temperature in (kg/m³)
procedure has been followed for circular tube with different is the velocity of air in (m/sec)
filament inserts. is the hydraulic diameter of tube in (m)
Pressure drop ( ) in (Pascal), case of tube with filament inserts
IV. Data Analysis
The calculation of each case and every velocity has been done (11)
using the equations as below: When is the density of water at ambient temperature (kg/m³)

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IJRMET Vol. 3, Issue 2, May - Oct 2013 ISSN : 2249-5762 (Online) | ISSN : 2249-5770 (Print)

is the earth gravity in (m/sec²)

manometer reading in (m)

V. Results Analysis
From the data analysis for the different test conditions such as,
plain tube, plain tube with filament insert having straight holes
(2 pitch ratio and 4 pitch ratio), filament insert having convergent
holes (2 pitch ratio and 4 pitch ratio) and filament insert having
divergent holes (2 pitch ratio and 4 pitch ratio) results tables are
prepared to recognize the arrangement of filament having the
highest heat transfer rate with lowest pressure drop.
The input data for the experimentation was, filament insert 2 pitch
ratio and 4 pitch ratio, voltage – to supply the heat (100, 120, 140
and 160 volts),and air velocity – to adjust the mass flow rate of the
working media (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 m/sec). After conducting the
experiments the data received is in the form of temperatures and
manometric reading. By using the existingly available equations,
the data is processed to find out volume flow rate, mass flow rate,
Reynolds number, Pradtl number, Nusselt number, heat transfer Fig. 5: Performance Curves of Tube With Straight Hole Filament
coefficient, heat transfer rate, pressure drop and pump power. at Different Pitch Ratio and Different Volts Input
Above mentioned terms will help to make appropriate conclusions
for the tests conducted.

Fig. 3: Plain Tube Performance Curves With Various Voltages Fig. 6: Performance Curves of Tube With Convergent Hole
Filament at Different Pitch Ratio and Different Volts Input

VI. Conclusion
The plot mass flow rate versus pressure drop shows the higher
pressure drop is with filament having convergent or divergent hole
than filament with straight hole (approximately 10%). Also the
pressure drop is maximum for pitch ratio 2 than pitch ratio 4, for
filaments having straight, convergent and divergent hole.
The pump power requirement (approximately 12%) is more for
filament with convergent or divergent holes with that of straight
hole.
The plot mass flow rate versus heat transfer rate, the heat transfer
enhancement is observed over the plain tube and filament insert
with straight holes by using either filament insert with convergent
holes or divergent holes. In case of filament insert with convergent
holes or divergent holes, the heat transfer rate is increased nearly
by 20% as compared to filament with straight holes and 40% with
that of plain tube.
Fig. 4: Variation of Pressure Drop Versus Mass Flow Rate for all The arrangement of filament having either convergent or divergent
Cases at 140 Volts hole with pitch ratio 4 gives highest heat transfer rate and low
pump power requirement as compared to other arrangements or
plain tube.

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ISSN : 2249-5762 (Online) | ISSN : 2249-5770 (Print) IJRMET Vol. 3, Issue 2, May - Oct 2013

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