Heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop of the horizontal concentric tube with twisted wires brush inserts

Abstract

In the present study, the heat transfer characteristics and the pressure drop of the horizontal concentric tube with twisted wires brush inserts are investigated. The inner diameters of the inner and outer tubes are 15.78 and 25.40 mm, respectively. The twisted wire brushes are fabricated by winding a 0.2 mm diameter of the copper wires over a 2 mm diameter of two twisted iron core-rod with three different twisted wires densities of 100, 200, 300 wires per centimeter. The plain tube with full-length twisted wires brush and regularly spaced twisted wires brush with 30 cm spacer length inserts are tested. Cold and hot water are used as working fluids in shell side and tube-side, respectively. The test runs are performed at the hot water Reynolds number ranging between 6000 and 20000. The inlet cold and hot water temperatures are 15, 20 °C, and between 40 and 50 °C, respectively. Effect of twisted wires density, inlet fluid temperature, and relevant parameters on heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop are considered. Twisted wire brushes insert have a large effect on the enhancement of heat transfer, however, the pressure drops also increase. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.