DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF DOUBLE HELICAL

COIL HEAT EXCHANGER BY COPPER TUBE

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

A.KARNAN
P.PRAVEEN KUMAR
K.SATHYAMOORTHI
T.PURUSHOTHAMAN

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

in

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CHETTINAD COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY,

KARUR

ANNA UNIVERSITY:: CHENNAI 600 025

APRIL 2017
DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF DOUBLE HELICAL
COIL HEAT EXCHANGER BY COPPER TUBE

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

A.KARNAN
P.PRAVEEN KUMAR
K.SATHYAMOORTHI
T.PURUSHOTHAMAN

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

in

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CHETTINAD COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY,

KARUR

ANNA UNIVERSITY:: CHENNAI 600 025

APRIL 2017

i
 ANNA UNIVERSITY:: CHENNAI 600 025

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report “Design and Analysis of double helical

coil heat exchanger using copper tube”is the bonafide work of

“A.Karnan(920213114019), P.Praveenkumar (920213114030),

K.Sathyamoorthi (920213114038), T.Purushothaman (920213114310)”

who carried out the project work under my supervision.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

Mr.V.Hariprasath,M.E. Mr.M.Chandrasekar,M.E.
HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR

Sr.Assistant Professor Assistant Professor

Department of Mechanical Department of Mechanical

Engineering Engineering

Chettinad College of Engineering & Chettinad College of Engineering &

Technology, Karur– 639114 Technology, Karur– 639114

Submitted for Project Viva-voce Examination held on……………………...

……………………… …….. …………………

Internal Examiner External Examiner

ii
 ABSTRACT

Enhancing the heat transfer by the use of helical coils has been studied and
researched by many researchers, because the fluid dynamics inside the pipes
of a helical coil heat exchanger offer certain advantages over the straight
tubes, shell and tube type heat exchanger, in terms of better heat transfer and
mass transfer coefficients. Various configurations of coil structure are
possible, and the configuration in which there is a series of vertically stacked
helically coiled tubes is the most common type. The end of the tubes act as
the inlet and outlet manifolds, which serve the purpose for the entry and exit
of hot as well as cold fluid. This configuration offers a high compact
structure and a high overall heat transfer coefficient; hence helical coil heat
exchangers are widely used in industrial applications such as power sector,
nuclear power generation, food processing plants, heat recovery systems,
refrigeration, food industry, industrial HVACs etc. Convective heat transfer
between a surface and the surrounding fluid in a heat exchanger has been a
major issue and a topic of study in the recent years. In this particular study,
an attempt has been made to analyze the effect of two different flows
(parallel and counter-flow) on the total heat transfer from a helical tube,
where the cold fluid flows in the outer pipe and the hot fluid flowing in the
inner pipes of the tube in tube helical coiled heat exchanger. Different
dimensions of the pipes, helixes are taken into consideration while running
the analysis. The surface Nusselt number, the contours of temperature and
energy, velocity vectors and the total heat transfer rate from the wall of the
tube were calculated and plotted using ANSYS FLUENT 16.0 where the
governing equations of mass, momentum and heat transfer were solved
simultaneously, using the k-e two equations turbulence model. Copper was
chosen as the as metal for the construction of the helical tube. The fluid
flowing through the tube was taken as water

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First and foremost, we express our thanks to our parents for providing
us a very nice environment for doing this project.

We extend our deep gratitude to our Vice Chairman

Mr. M.A.M.R. Muthiah and President Ms. GeethaMuthiah for their
valuable support.

We thank our secretary Sri L.Muthukrishnan, for proceeding the

project within the campus.

We wish to express our appreciation and gratefulness to our Principal,

Mrs. A.Punitha, for his continuous encouragement.

We wish to convey our special thanks to V.Hariprasath, HOD,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, for her support and providing us
ample time to complete our project.

We express our indebtedness to the Supervisor of our Project,

Mr.M.Chandrasekar, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical
Engineering for his guidance throughout the course of our project.

Our sincere thanks to all the teaching and non-teaching staff of

Chettinad College of Engineering and Technology, Karur and beloved
thanks to our friends for their help in the successful completion of this
project work.

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE

NO. NO.
ABSTRACT iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
LIST OF TABLES viii
LIST OF FIGURES ix
LIST OF SYMBOLS Xi
1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Heat exchanger 2
1.2 Type of heat exchanger 3
1.3 Existing helical coil heat exchanger 3
1.4 Concept of the work 4
1.5 Methodology 5
5
1.6 Introduction of CFD
2. GENERAL 7
2.1 Principle of heat exchanger 8
2.2 Modes of heat exchanger 8
2.3 Classification of heat exchanger 9
2.4 Tubular heat exchanger 9
2.4.1 Double pipe heat exchanger 10
2.4.2 Shell and tube heat exchanger 11
2.4.3 Spird tube heat exchanger 12
3. HEAT TRANSFER CO-EFFICIENT 14
3.1 Heat transfer co-efficient 15
3.2 Advantage of coils 17

v
 3.3 Disadvantage of coils 17
3.4 Application 18

4. CFD ANALYSIS
4.1 Stages of project 20
4.2 Geometry 20
4.2.1 Sketching
4.2.2 Sweep 21
4.2.3 Merging 21
4.2.4 Geometry diagram 21
4.3 Meshing 22
4.3.1 Y+ values 24
4.3.2 Named selection 24
4.4 Solution 27
4.4.1 Problem setup 28
4.4.2 Models 28
4.4.3 Materials 28
4.4.4 Cell zone conditions 29
4.4.5 Boundary conditions 29
4.4.6 Reference values 29
4.4.7 Solution methods 30
4.4.8 Solution control initialization 30
4.4.9 Measure of convergence 30
4.4.10 Run calculation 31
5 CFD SIMULATION 31
5.1 Simulation
5.1.1 Pitch 35mm simulation 33
5.1.2 Pitch 40mm simulation 33

vi
6 RESULT AND GRAPH 38
6.1 Result
6.2 Pitch 40mm result 45
6.2.1 Static temperature 45
6.2.2 Wall temperature 45
6.2.3 Total temperature 45
6.2.4 Static pressure 45
6.2.5 Total pressure 46
6.2.6 Enthalphy 46
6.3 Pitch 35mm result 46
6.3.1 Static temperature 46
6.3.2 Wall temperature 46
6.3.3 Total temperature 47
6.3.4 Static pressure 47
6.3.5 Total pressure 47
6.4 Graph 47
48
6 CONCLUSION 55
REFERENCES 56

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table TITLE Page No.

No.
4.1 Naming of various parts of the body with state type 21
4.2 Y + values for different wall treatments 24
4.3 Boundary conditions 29
4.4 Input parameters for analysis 30
4.5 Residuals 31
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7

viii
 LIST OF FIGURES

Fig No Name Page No

1.1 Existing helical coil heat exchanger 4
2.1 Classification of heat exchanger 9
2.2 (a) Double pipe helical coil 11
(b) Close up helical 11
4.1 Pitch 35mm original geometry 22
4.2 Pitch 40mm original geometry 22
4.3 Pitch 35mm geometry for meshing 23
4.4 Pitch 40mm geometry for meshing 23
4.5 Pitch 35mm mesh 25
4.6 Pitch 40mm mesh 26
4.7 Pitch 35mm closed view of meshing parts 26
4.8 Pitch 40mm closed view of meshing parts 27
4.9 Pitch 40mm named selection 27
4.10 Pitch 40mm named selection 28
5.1 Contours of total pressure (Pascal) 33
5.2 Contours of static temperature (k) 33
5.3 Velocity vectors colored by velocity magnitude(m/s) 34
5.4 Velocity vectors colored by dynamic pressure 34
(Pascal)
5.5 Velocity vectors colored by static pressure (Pascal) 35
5.6 Velocity vectors colored by absolute pressure (Pascal) 35
5.7 Contour of dynamic pressure (Pascal) 36
5.8 Contour of radiation temperature (k) 36
5.9 Velocity vectors colored by dynamic pressure 37

ix
5.10 Contour of wall temperature (thin) (k) 37
5.11 Contour of static temperature (k) 38
5.12 Contour of static temperature (k) 38
5.13 Contour of enthalpy (j/kg) 39
5.14 Contour of entropy (j/kg-k) 39
5.15 Contour of static pressure (Pascal) 40
5.16 Contour of static pressure (Pascal) 40
5.17 Velocity vectors by velocity magnitude (m/s) 41
5.18 Velocity vectors by static pressure (Pascal) 41
5.19 Velocity vectors by dynamic pressure (Pascal) 42
5.20 Velocity vectors colored by static temperature (k) 42
5.21 Contour of static temperature (k 43
5.22 Velocity vectors colored by internal energy (j/kg) 43
6.1 Iteration point 49
6.2 static temperature for pitch valve 35mm 49
6.3 static temperature for pitch valve 40mm 50
6.4 Total temperature for pitch valve 35mm 50
6.5 Total temperature for pitch valve 40mm 51

x
 LIST OF SYMBOLS

SYMBOLS SPECIFICATION
A area of heat transfer (m2)
De Dean Number
H heat transfer coefficient (Wm−2 K−1)
p tube pitch (m)
K thermal conductivity (Wm−1 K−1)
L length of the pipe (m)
Q heat transferred (W)
R inner radius of the tube (m)
Rc pitch circle radius of the pipe (m)
Re Reynolds number
U velocity (m s−1)
U overall heat transfer coefficient
V volume (m3)
δ curvature ratio
Δ ( temperature) difference (K)
µ viscosity (kgm−1 s−1)
ρ density (kgm−3)

xi
INTRODUCTION

1
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Heat exchange between flowing fluids is one of the most important

physical process of concern, and a variety of heat exchangers are used in
different type of installations, as in process industries, compact heat
exchangers nuclear power plant, HVACs, food processing, refrigeration, etc.
The purpose of constructing a heat exchanger is to get an efficient method of
heat transfer from one fluid to another, by direct contact or by indirect
contact. The heat transfer occurs by three principles: conduction, convection
and radiation. In a heat exchanger the heat transfer through radiation is not
taken into account as it is negligible in comparison to conduction and
convection. Conduction takes place when the heat from the high temperature
fluid flows through the surrounding solid wall. The conductive heat transfer
can be maximized by selecting a minimum thickness of wall of a highly
conductive material. But convection is plays the major role in the
performance of a heat exchanger.

Forced convection in a heat exchanger transfers the heat from one

moving stream to another stream through the wall of the pipe. The cooler
fluid removes heat from the hotter fluid as it flows along or across it.

1.1. HEAT EXCHANGER

A heat exchanger is a device used in transfer heat between a solid

object and a fluid, or between two or more fluids. The fluids may be
separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contact.

They are widely used in space heating, refrigeration, air conditioning,

power stations, chemical plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries,
natural-gas processing, and sewage treatment. The classic example of a heat

2
exchanger is found in an internal combustion engine in which a circulating
fluid known as engine coolant flows through radiator coils and air flows past
the coils, which cools the coolant and heats the incoming air. Another
example is the heat sink, which is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the
heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium,
often air or a liquid coolant.

1.2.TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGER

1. Shell and tube heat exchanger

2. Plate heat exchangers

3. Plate and shell heat exchanger

4. Adiabatic wheel heat exchanger

5. Plate fin heat exchanger

6. Pillow plate heat exchanger

7. Fluid heat exchangers

8. Waste heat recovery units

9. Dynamic scraped surface heat exchanger

10. Phase-change heat exchangers

11. Direct contact heat exchangers

12. Micro channel heat exchangers

1.3 EXISTING HELICAL COIL HEAT EXCHANGER:

Although double-pipe heat exchangers are the simplest to design, the

better choice in the following cases would be the helical-coil heat exchanger
(HCHE). The main advantage of the HCHE, like that for the SHE, is its
highly efficient use of space, especially when it‟s limited and not enough
straight pipe can be laid. Under conditions of low flow rates (or laminar

3
flow), such that the typical shell-and-tube exchangers have low heat-transfer
coefficients and becoming uneconomical.

Fig 1.1 EXISTING HELICAL COIL HEAT EXCHANGER

When there is low pressure in one of the fluids, usually from

accumulated pressure drops in other process equipment. When one of the
fluids has components in multiple phases (solids, liquids, and gases), which
tends to create mechanical problems during operations, such as plugging of
small-diameter tubes. Cleaning of helical coils for these multiple-phase
fluids can prove to be more difficult than its shell and tube counterpart;
however the helical coil unit would require cleaning less often. Heat transfer
rate in helical coil are higher as compared to a straight tube heat exchanger.
Compact structure which requires less floor area when compared to other
heat exchangers.

1.4 CONCEPT OF THE WORK:

Instead of single tube helical coil now double tube helical coil is
going to use for the analysis. Normal Water will be added with
Coolant/Flowing medium to increase the thermal conductivity.

4
1.5METHODLOGY:

The heat exchangers were constructed from mild steel and stainless
steel. The inner tube having outer diameter 12mm and inner 10mm was
constructed from mild steel and outer tube of outer diameter 25mm and inner
diameter 23mm was constructed from stainless steel. Mild steel wire is
wounded on the inner tube which has pitch 40 mm and 37 mm on the heat
exchangers. The curvature radius of the coil is 135 mm and the stretched
length of the coil is 3992 mm. While the bending of tubes very fine sand
filled in tube to maintain smoothness on inner surface and this washed with
compressed air. The care is taken to preserve the circular cross section of the
coil during the bending process. The end connections soldered at tube ends
and two ends drawn from coiled tube at one position.

1.6 INTRODUCTION OF CFD

Computational Fluid Dynamics, abbreviated as CFD, uses different

numerical methods and a number of computerized algorithms in order to
solve and analyze problems that involve the flow of fluids. The calculations
required to simulate the interaction of fluids with surfaces defined by
boundary conditions, and initial conditions are done by the ANSYS Fluent
v16.0. The Navier stokes equations form the basis of all CFD problems. Two
equation models are used for the simulations, and different models are
discussed below.

The continuity equation, energy equation and the navies-Stokes

momentum equation govern the flow of the fluid in the curve tubes
Continuity Equation gives the conservation of mass and is given by

5
 𝜕𝑈/𝜕𝑥+𝜕𝑉/𝜕𝑥= 0

And for constant density, 𝜕𝜌/𝜕𝑡=0

The momentum balance, (Navies-Stokes equations) follows Newton‟s 2nd

law. The two forces acting on the finite element are the body and the surface
forces. In CFD programs, the momentum equation is given as

(𝑢𝜕𝑈/𝜕𝑥+ 𝑣𝜕𝑉/𝜕𝑥) = −𝜌𝑔 −𝜕𝑝/𝜕𝑥+ 𝜇𝜕2𝑦/𝜕𝑥2

e governing energy equation is given by:

(𝑢𝜕𝑇/𝜕𝑥+ 𝑣𝜕𝑇/𝜕𝑦) = 𝑘𝜕2𝑇/𝜕𝑦2

Turbulence is created because of the unstable nature of the fluid flow. The
flow becomes turbulent for higher Reynolds number. In this model the k-ε
(turbulent kinetics energy “k” and the turbulent dissipation “ε”) model is
used.

The physical interpretation of the ε equation is,

1. Accumulation of ε

2. Convection of ε by the mean velocity

3. Production of ε

4. Dissipation of ε

5. Diffusion of ε
The time constant for turbulence is determined from the turbulent
kinetic energy and dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy.

𝜏 =𝑘/ε

6
GENERAL

7
 CHAPTER-II

HEAT EXCHANGER

One of the important processes in engineering is the heat exchange.

The means of heat exchanger that to transfer the heat between flowing fluids.
A heat exchanger is the process to transfer heat from one fluid to another
fluid. The heat exchanger is devise that used for transfer of internal thermal
energy between two or more fluids at different temperatures. In most heat
exchangers, the fluids are separated by a heat transfer surface, and ideally
they do not mix. Heat exchangers are used in the process, power, petroleum,
transportation, air conditioning, refrigeration, Cryogenic, heat recovery,
alternate fuels, and other industries. Common examples of heat exchangers
familiar to us in day-to-day use are automobile radiators, condensers,
evaporators, and oil coolers. Heat exchangers could be classified in many
different ways.
2.1 PRINCIPLE OF HEAT EXCHANGER

Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the

generation, use, conversion, and exchange of thermal energy and heat
between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various
mechanisms, such as thermal conduction, thermal convection, thermal
radiation, and transfer of energy by phase changes

2.2 MODES OF HEAT EXCHANGER:

On a microscopic scale, heat conduction occurs as hot, rapidly moving

or vibrating atoms and molecules interact with neighboring atoms and
molecules, transferring some of their energy (heat) to these neighboring
particles. In other words, heat is transferred by conduction when adjacent
atoms vibrate against one another, or as electrons move from one atom to

8
another. Convective-, or convection, is the transfer of heat from one place to
another by the movement of fluids, a process that is retractable or swinging
type so that the clamps can be withdrawn or swung clear of the path of
loading and unloading of the work piece. clamps should not obstruct the path
of the cutting tool. They should not get drilled, milled or welded during
operation. Essentially the transfer of heat via transfer. Thermal radiation is
electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of charged
particles in matter.

2.3CLASSIFICATION OF HEAT EXCHANGER

Fig 2.1Classification of heat exchanger

2.4TUBULAR HEAT EXCHANGER:

Tubular heat exchangers are generally built of circular tubes , although

elliptical, rectangular or round/flat twisted tubes have also been used in some
applications. There is considerable flexibility in design because the core

9
geometry can be varied easily by changing the tube diameter, length, and
arrangement.
Tubular exchangers can be designed for high pressures relative to
environment and high pressure differences between the fluids. Tubular
exchangers are used primarily for liquid to liquid and liquid to phase change
(condensing or evaporating) heat transfer applications. There are also used
for gas to liquid and gas to gas heat transfer applications primarily when the
operating temperature and pressure is very high or fouling is a severe
problem on at least one fluid side and no other types of exchangers work.
These tubular exchangers may be classified as shell-and-tube, double-pipe,
and spiral tube heat exchangers. There are all prime surface exchangers
except for exchangers having fins.
2.4.1 DOUBLE PIPE HEAT EXCHANGER:

The double pipe or the tube in tube type heat exchanger consists of
one pipe placed concentrically inside another pipe having a greater diameter.
The flow in this configuration cane be of two types: parallel flow and
counter-flow. It can be arranged in a lot of series and parallel configurations
to meet the different heat transfer requirements. Of this the helically
arranged stands out as it has found its place in different industrial
applications. As this configuration is widely used, knowledge about the heat
transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and different flow patterns has been of
much importance. The curvature in the tubes creates a secondary flow,
which is normal to the primary axial direction of flow. This secondary flow
increases the heat transfer between the wall and the flowing fluid. And they
offer a greater heat transfer area within a small space, with greater heat
transfer coefficients. Study has been done on the types of flows in the curved
pipes, and the effect of Brandt and Reynolds number on the flow patterns
and on Nusslet numbers. The two basic boundary conditions that are faced in

10
the applications are constant temperature and the constant heat flux of the
wall.

Fig2.2(a) Double pipe helical coil Fig 2.2(b) close up helical coil

2.4.2 SHELL AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER :

Shell and tube heat exchangers are built of round tubes mounted in
large cylindrical shells with the tube axis parallel to that of the shell. These
are commonly used as oil coolers, power condensers, pre-heaters and steam
generators in both fossil fuel and nuclear-based energy production
applications. They are also widely used in process applications and in the air
conditioning and refrigeration industry. Although they are not specially
compact, their robustness and shape make them well suited for high pressure
operations. They have larger heat transfer surface area to volume ratio than
the most of common types of heat exchangers, and they are manufactured
easily for a large variety of sizes and flow configurations. They can operate
at high pressures and their M construction facilitates disassembly for
periodic maintenance and cleaning. The shell-and-tube heat exchangers
consist of a bundle of tubes enclosed within a cylindrical shell.
One fluid flows through the tubes while the second fluid flows space
between the tube sand shell. In shell and tube heat exchanger, the shell side
stream flows across between pairs of baffled, and then flows parallel to the

11
tube. There are wide differences between shell-and-tube heat exchangers
depending on the application. The main design objectives here are to
accommodate thermal expansion, to furnish ease of cleaning, or to provide
the least expensive construction. A number of shell side and tube side flow
arrangement are used in shell and tube heat exchangers depending on heat
duty, pressure drop, pressure level, fouling, manufacturing technique and
cost, corrosion control, and cleaning problem. The baffles are used in shell
and tube heat exchanger to promote better heat transfer coefficient on the
shell side and to support the tubes.
2.4.2 SPIRAL TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER
Spiral tube heat exchanger has excellent heat exchanger because of far
compact and high heat transfer efficiency. Spiral-tube heat exchangers
consist of one or more spirally wound coils which are, in circular pattern,
connected to header from which fluid is flowed. This spiral coil is installed
in a shell another fluid is circulated around outside of the tube, leads to
transfer the heat between the two fluids. Heat transfer rate associated with a
spiral tube is higher than that for a straight tube. In addition, a considerable
amount of surface can be accommodating in a given space by spiraling. In
spiral tube heat exchanger, problem of thermal expansion is not probably
occurring and self cleaning is also possible. A spiral tube heat exchanger is a
coil assembly fitted in a compact shell that to optimize heat transfer
efficiency and space. Every spiral coil assembly has welded tube to manifold
joints and uses stainless steel as a minimum material requirement for
durability and strength Spiral tube heat exchanger uses multiple parallel
tubes connected to pipe or header to create a tube side flow. The spaces or
gaps between the coils of the spiral tube bundle become the shell side flow
path when the bundle is placed in the shell. Tube side and shell side
connections on the bottom or top of the assembly allow for different flow
path configurations. The spiral shape the flow for the tube side and shell side

12
fluids create centrifugal force and secondary circulating flow that enhances
the heat transfer on both sides in a true counter flow arrangement. Since
there are no baffles are provided in to the system, therefore to lower
velocities and heat transfer-coefficients. Performance is optimized.
Additionally, since there are a variety of multiple parallel tube
configurations are not compromised by limited shell diameter sizes as it is in
shell and tube designs. The profile of a spiral is very compact and fits in a
smaller path than a shell and tube design. Since the tube bundle is coiled,
space requirements for tube bundle removal are almost eliminated. When
exotic material is required, a spiral tube heat exchanger minimizes the
material used since manifolds replace the channels, heads and tube sheets of
a conventional shell and tube design. Spiral tube heat exchanger uses single
channel technology, which means that both fluids occupy a single channel,
which allows fully counter-current flow. One fluid (hot fluid)enters the
center of the unit and flows towards the periphery. The other fluid (cold
fluid) enters the unit at the periphery and moves towards the center. The
channels are curved and have a uniform cross section ,which creates
“spiraling” motion within the fluid. The fluid is fully turbulent at much
lower velocity than straight tube heat exchangers, and fluid travels at
constant velocity throughout the whole unit.

13
HEAT TRANSFER CO-EFFICIENT

14
 CHAPTER 3

3.1 HEAT TRANSFER CO EFFICIENT

Convective heat transfer, is the transfer of heat from one place to

another by the movement of fluids due to the difference in density across a
film of the surrounding fluid over the hot surface. Through this film heat
transfer takes place by thermal conduction and as thermal conductivity of
most fluids is low, the main resistance lies there. Heat transfer through the
film can be enhanced by increasing the velocity of the fluid flowing over the
surface which results in reduction in thickness of film. The equation for rate
of heat transfer by convection under steady state is given by,

Q = h A (Tw – Tat)

Where, h-is the film coefficient or surface

coefficient (W/m2.K).

A is the area of the wall,

Tw is the wall temperature,

T atm is surrounding temperature

Fig 3.1 Wall convection

15
 The value of „h‟ depends upon the properties of fluid within the film
region; hence it is called „Heat Transfer Coefficient‟. It depends on the
different properties of fluid, dimensions of the surface and velocity of the
fluid flow (i.e. nature of flow).

The overall heat transfer coefficient is the overall transfer rate of a

series or parallel combination of convective and conductive walls. The
„overall Heat Transfer Coefficient‟ is expressed in terms of thermal
resistances of each fluid stream. The summation of individual resistances is
the total thermal resistance and its inverse is the overall heat transfer
coefficient, U.

1 𝑈=1/𝑕 o+𝐴𝑜/𝐴𝑖1 /𝑕𝑖+ 𝑅𝑓𝑜 +𝐴𝑜/𝐴𝑖𝑅𝑓𝑖 + 𝑅𝑤

Where, U = overall heat transfer coefficient based on outside area of tube all

A = area of tube wall

h = convective heat transfer coefficient

R f = thermal resistance due to fouling

R w= thermal resistance due to wall conduction and suffixes „O‟ and

„I‟ refer to the outer and inner tubes, respectively.

Due to existence of the secondary flow, the heat transfer rates (& the
fluid pressure drop) are greater in the case of a curved tube than in a
corresponding straight tube at the same flow rate and the same temperature
and same boundary conditions.

16
3.2 ADVANTAGE OF COILS:

1)Helical coils give better heat transfer characteristics, since they have
lower wall resistance &higher process side coefficient
2)The whole surface area of the curved pipe is exposed to the moving
fluid, which eliminates the dead-zones that are a common drawback in the
shell and tube type heat exchanger.
3)The whole surface area of the curved pipe is exposed to the moving
fluid, which eliminates the dead-zones that are a common drawback in the
shell and tube type heat exchanger.
4)A helical coil offers a larger surface area in a relatively smaller
reactor volume and a lesser floor area.
5)The spring-like coil of the helical coil heat exchanger eliminates
thermal expansion and thermal shock problems, which helps in high pressure
operations.
6)Fouling is comparatively less in helical coil type than shell and tube
type because of greater turbulence created inside the curved pipes.

3.3 DISADVANTAGE OF COILS:

1)For highly reactive fluids or highly corrosive fluid coils cannot be

used, instead jackets are used.
2)Cleaning of vessels with coils is more difficult than the cleaning of
shells and jackets.
3)Coils play a major role in selection of agitation system. Sometimes
the densely packed coils can create unmixed regions by interfering with fluid
flow.
4)The design of the helical tube in tube type heat exchanger is also a
bit complex and challenging.

17
3.4 APPLICATIONS
1)Helical coils are used for transferring heat in chemical reactors
because the heat transfer coefficients are greater in helical coils as compared
to other configurations. This is especially important when chemical reactions
have high heats of reaction are carried out and the heat generated (or
consumed) has to be transferred rapidly to maintain the temperature of the
reaction. They are used widely in petroleum industries for different
applications.
2)The helical coils have a compact configuration, and because of that
they can be readily used in heat transfer application with space limitations,
for example, marine cooling systems, central cooling, cooling of lubrication
oil, steam generations in marine and industrial applications.
3)The helical coiled heat exchangers are used widely in food and
beverage industries, like in food processing and pre-heating, pasteurization
of liquid food items, and for storing them at desired temperatures.
4)Helical coil heat exchangers are often used as condensers in used in
HVACs due to their greater heat transfer rate and compact structure.
5)Helical coiled tubes are used extensively in cryogenic industry for
the liquefaction of gases.
6)Used in hydro carbon processing, recovery of CO2, cooling of
liquid hydrocarbons, also used in polymer industries for cooling purposes.

18
INVESTIGATION OF HEAT EXCHANGER

19
 CHAPTER 4

CFD ANALYSIS

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of the system starts with

the construction of desired geometry and mesh for modeling the dominion.
Generally, geometry is simplified for the CFD studies. Meshing is the
discretization of the domain into small volumes where the equations are
solved by the help of iterative methods. Modeling starts with the describing
of the boundary and initial conditions for the dominion and leads to
modeling of the entire system. Finally, it is followed by the analysis of the
results, conclusions and discussions.

4.1 STAGES OF PROJECT

NUMERICAL POST
PRE PROCERSSING
PROCERSSING COMPUTATION

FLUENT FLUENT RESULTS

GEOMETRY TEMPERATURE
 Importing
 3D Modeling  Meshing VELOCITY
 Parameter
 Simulation MASS FLOW
RATE

4.2 GEOMETRY
Heat exchanger is built in the ANSYS 16.0 workbench design
module. It is a parallel flow heat exchanger. First, the fluid flow (fluent)
module from the workbench is selected. The design modeler opens as a new
window as the geometry is double clicked.

20
4.2.1 SKETCHING
Out of 3 planes, via, XY-plane, YZ-plane and ZX-plane, the YZ-plane
is selected for the first sketch. A 300mm line for the height of the helical
structure is made. A new plane is created in reference with the YZ-plane
which is termed as plane 4.
4 new sketchers are added under the new plane, i.e. plane 4. In sketch
2, a circle of diameter 12mm at a distance of 300mm line from origin. In
sketch 3, two circles of diameters 12mm and 15mm are made concentric to
previous circle. In sketch 4, two circles of diameters 15mm and 22mm are
made concentric to previous circles. In sketch 5, two circles of diameters
22mm and 25mm are made concentric to previous circles.
4.2.2 SWEEP
Sketch 2, 3, 4 & 5 are swept along the line made in sketch. when
made in sketch 1 using the” add frozen” operation to construction the 3D
model with different parts. The helical sweep is of 35mm and 40mm pitch
because the twist specification is defined in number of turns.
4.2.3 MERGING
After sweep operation, it will show the model as 4 parts and 4 bodies.
For merge operation, all the 4 parts are selected using control and merged as
1 part. At the end it will show as 1 part and 4 bodies. The 4 bodies within 1
part are named as follows:

Part number Part Of The Model State Type

1 Inner_ Fluid Fluid
2 Inner_ Pipe Solid
3 Outer_ Fluid Fluid
4 Outer_ Pipe Solid

Table 4.1 Naming of various parts of the body with state type

21
4.2.4 GEOMETRY DIAGRAM

Fig 4.1 Pitch 35mm original geometry

Fig 4.2 Pitch 40mm original geometry

22
 Fig 4.3 Pitch 35mm geometry for meshing

Save the project at this point and close the window. Refresh update the
project on the workbench.

Fig 4.4 Pitch 40mm geometry for meshing

23
4.3 MESHING
Initially a relatively coarser mesh is generated. This mesh contains
mixed cells ( Hexahedral and tetra cells) having both triangular and
quadrilateral faces at the boundary. It care is taken to use structured
hexahedral cells as much as possible.

It is means to reduce numerical diffusion as much as possible by

structure the mesh in a well manner and particularly near the wall region on
then a fine mesh is generated. For this fine mesh, the edges and regions of
point high temperature and pressure gradients are finely meshed.

4.3.1 y+ Values

y + values play a significant role in turbulence modeling for the near

wall treatment. y+ is a non-dimensional distance. It is frequently used to
describe how coarse or fine a mesh is for a particular flow pattern. It
determines the proper size of the cells near domain walls.

The turbulence model wall laws have limitations on the y+ value at

the wall. For instance, the standard K-epsilon model requires a wall y+ value
between approximately 300 and 100. A faster flow near the wall will
produce higher values of y+, so the grid size near the wall must be
decreased. y+ values for different wall treatments are given in table 2

Wall treatment method Recommended y+ Used y+ values at tube

values walls
Standard wall functions 30 < y+ < 400 y+ < 5

Non-equilibrium wall 30 < y+ < 100 y+ < 5

functions
Low Reynolds number y+ ≅ 1 y+ < 1
model

Table 4.2 y+ Values for Different Wall Treatments

24
The mesh details view gave us the following information:

 Relevance centre: fine meshing

 Smoothing: high
 Size: 1.9568e-004m to3.9135e-002m
 Pinch tolerance:1.7611e-004m
 Nodes:330688
 Elements:206972
The mesh details view gave us the following information:

 Relevance center: fine meshing

 Smoothing: high
 Size: 1.9567e-004m to3.9135e-002m
 Pinch tolerance:1.7611e-004m
 Nodes:362867
 Elements:260062

Fig 4.5 Pitch35mm mesh

25
 Fig 4.6 Pitch 40mm mesh

Fig 4.7 Pitch 35mm closed view of meshing parts

26
 Fig 4.8 Pitch 40mm closed view of meshing parts

4.3.2 NAMED SELECTION

The different surfaces of the solid are named as per required inlets and
outlets for inner and outer fluids. The outer wall is named as insulation
surface.

Fig 4.9 Pitch 35mm named selection

27
 Fig 4.10 Pitch 40mm named selection

Save project again at this point and close the window. Refresh and
update project on the workbench. Now open the setup. The ANSYS Fluent
Launcher will open in a window. Set dimension as 3D, option as Double
Precision, processing as Serial type and hit OK. The Fluent window will
open.

4.4 SOLUTION:

4.4.1 Problem Setup

The mesh is checked and quality is finished. The analysis type is

changed to pressure based type. The velocity formulation is changed to
absolute and time steady state. Gravity is defined as y = -9.81 m/s2

4.4.2 Models

Energy is set to ON position. Viscous model is selected as “k-ε model

(2 equation). Radiation model is changed to Discrete Ordinates.

28
 4.4.3 Materials

The create/edit option is clicked to add water-liquid and copper to the

list of fluid and solid respectively from the fluent database.

4.4.4 Cell zone conditions

The parts are assigned as water and copper as per fluid/solid parts.

4.4.5 Boundary Conditions

Boundary conditions are used according to the need of the model. The
inlet and outlet conditions are defined as velocity inlet and pressure outlet.
As this is a counter-flow with two tubes so there are two inlets and two
outlets. The walls are separately specified with respective boundary
conditions. No slip condition is considered for each wall. Except the tube
walls each wall is set to zero heat flux condition. The details about all
boundary conditions can be seen in the table 3 as given below

Boundary Turbulent
Velocity Turbulent
- Condition Dissipation Temp
Magnitude Kinetic Energy
Type Rate

Inner Inlet Velocity Inlet 0.9942 m/s 0.01 m2/s2 0.1 m2/s3 348 K

Inner Pressure Outlet - - - -

Outlet

Outer Inlet Velocity Inlet 0.8842 m/s 0.01 m2/s2 0.1 m2/s3 283 K

Outer Pressure Outlet - - - -

Outlet

Table 4.3 Boundary conditions

29
1 Material Properties
I Water liquid (fluid)
Density 1.225 kg/m3
C p (Specific Heat) 1006.43 J/kg-K
Thermal Conductivity 0.0242 W/m-K
Viscosity 1.7894e-05 kg/m-s
Molecular Weight 28.966kg/mol
II copper (solid)
Density 2719 kg/m3
C p (Specific Heat) 871 J/kg-K
Thermal Conductivity 202.4 W/m-K

Table 4.4 Input parameters for analysis

4.4.6 Reference Values

The inner inlet is selected from the drop down list of “compute from”.
The values are:

 Area = 1 m2
 Density = 998.2 kg/m3
 Length = 39.37008 inch
 Temperature = 348 K
 Velocity = 0.9942 m/s
 Viscosity = 0.001003 kg/m-s
 Ratio of specific heats = 1.4
4.4.7 Solution Methods

The solution methods are specified as follows:

 Scheme = Simple
 Gradient = Least Square Cell Based
 Pressure = Standard
 Momentum = Second Order Upwind
 Turbulent Kinetic Energy = Second Order Upwind
30
  Turbulent Dissipation Rate = Second Order Upwind

4.4.8 Solution Control and Initialization

Under relaxation factors the parameters are
 Pressure = 0.3 Pascal
 Density = 1 kg/m3
 Body forces = 1 kg/m2s2
 Momentum = 0.7 kg-m/s
 Turbulent kinetic energy = 0.8 m2/s2
Then the solution initialization method is set to Standard Initialization
whereas the reference frame is set to Relative cell zone. The inner inlet is
selected from the compute from drop down list and the solution is initialized

4.4.9 Measure of Convergence

It is tried to have a nice convergence throughout the simulation and

hence criteria is made strict so as to get an accurate result. For this reason
residuals are given as per the table 4 that follows.

Variable Residual

x-velocity 10-6
y-velocity 10-6
z-velocity 10-6
Continuity 10-6
Specific dissipation energy/ dissipation energy 10-5

Turbulent kinetic energy 10-5

Energy 10-9

Table 4.5Residuals

4.4.10 Run Calculation

The number of iteration is set to 50 and the solution is calculated and

various contours, vectors and plots are obtained
31
 CHAPTER 5

CFD SIMULATION

32
 CHAPTER 5

CFD SIMULATION

5.1 Simulation

At heat transfer in coil it can be seen that the static temperature is little
higher on the lower surface than on the upper surface.

5.1.1 Pitch 35mm simulation

Fig 5.1 Contours Of Total Pressure (pascal)

Fig 5.2 Contours Of static temperature(k)

33
 Fig 5.3Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)

Fig 5.4 Velocity Vectors Colored By Dynamic Pressure (pascal)

34
 Fig 5.5 Velocity Vectors Colored By Static Pressure (pascal)

Fig 5.6Velocity Vectors Colored By Absolute Pressure (Pascal)

35
 Fig 5.7Contours Of Dynamic Pressure (Pascal)

Fig 5.8contours of radiation temperature (k)

36
Fig 5.9Velocity Vectors Colored By Dynamic Pressure (Pascal)

Fig 5.10 contours of wall temperature (thin) (k)

37
5.1.2 Pitch 40mm simulation:

Fig 5.11 Contours Of Total Temperature (k)

Fig 5.12 Contours Of Static Temperature (k)

38
Fig 5.13 Contours Of Enthalpy (j/kg)

Fig 5.14 Contours Of Entropy (j/kg-k)

39
Fig 5.15 Contours Of Static Pressure (Pascal)

Fig 5.16 Contours Of Static Pressure (Pascal)

40
Fig 5.17 Velocity Vectors By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)

Fig 5.18 Velocity Vectors By Static Pressure (Pascal)

41
 Fig 5.19 Velocity Vectors By Dynamic Pressure (Pascal)

Fig 5.20 Velocity Vectors Colored By Static Temperature (k)

42
 Fig 5.21 Contours of static temperature (k)

Fig 5.22 Velocity Vectors Colored By Internal Energy (j/kg)

43
RESULT AND GRAPH

44
 CHAPTER 6

RESULT AND GRAPH

6.1 RESULT

Then the result given below table for static temperature, total
temperature, total pressure, static pressure, enthalpy for pitch valve 35mm
and 40mm.

6.2 Pitch 40mm result:

6.2.1 Static temperature

Static temperature rate (k)

inner inlet 348
inner outlet 325.4
outer inlet 283
outer outlet 309.041
Net 348
Table 6.1 static temperature

6.2.2 wall temperature

Wall temperature (k)
inner inlet 330
inner outlet 316
outer inlet 313
outer outlet 316
Net 330
Table 6.2 wall temperature

6.2.3 Total temperature

Wall temperature (k)

inner inlet 348
inner outlet 325.4
outer inlet 283
outer outlet 309
Net 348
Table 6.3 Total temperature

45
6.2.4 Static pressure

Wall temperature (Pascal)

inner inlet 20957.49
inner outlet 0
outer inlet 26055.623
outer outlet 0
Net 20655.623
Table 6.4 Static pressure

6.2.5 Total pressure

Wall temperature (Pascal)
inner inlet 21587.2
inner outlet 831.31
outer inlet 26450.82
outer outlet 1187.11
Net 26450.82
Table 6.5 Total pressure

6.2.6 Enthalpy:

Wall temperature (j/kg l)

inner inlet 208473.38
inner outlet 114097.6
outer inlet -63155.4
outer outlet 45569.098
Net 208473.38
Table 6.6 Enthalpy

6.3 Pitch 35mm result:

6.3.1 Static temperature

(k)
inner inlet 348
inner outlet 324.8
outer inlet 283
outer outlet 307.04
Net 348
Table 6.7 Static temperature

46
6.3.2 wall temperature

Wall temperature (k)

inner inlet 330
inner outlet 314
outer inlet 313
outer outlet 310
Net 330
Table 6.8 wall temperature

6.3.3 Total temperature

Wall temperature (k)
inner inlet 348
inner outlet 323
outer inlet 283
outer outlet 307
Net 348
Table 6.9 Total temperature

6.3.4 Static pressure

Wall temperature (Pascal)

inner inlet 20956.5
inner outlet 0
outer inlet 26050.66
outer outlet 0
Net 20655.623
Table 6.10 Static pressure

6.3.5 Total pressure

Wall temperature (Pascal)
inner inlet 21587.2
inner outlet 829.31
outer inlet 26448.52
outer outlet 1186.11
Net 26450.82
Table 6.11 Total pressure

47
6.4 GRAPH

Fig 6.1 Iterations point

Fig 6.2 Static temperature for pitch valve 35mm

48
Fig 6.3 Static temperature for pitch valve 40mm

Fig 6.4 Total temperature for pitch valve 40mm

49
fig 6.5Total temperature for pitch valve 40mm

50
CONCLUSION

51
 CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION

A CFD package (ANSYS FLUENT 16.0) was used for the numerical
study of heat transfer characteristics of a helical coiled double pipe heat
exchanger for parallel flow and the results were then compared with the
different pitch valve 35 and 40mm. The CFD results when compared with
the experimental results from different studies and were well within the error
limits. The study showed that there is not much difference in the heat
transfer performances of the parallel low configuration. The simulation was
carried out for water to water heat transfer characteristics and different inlet
temperatures were studied for the pipes was found to be varying from 348k.

Characteristics of the fluid flow were also studied for the constant
temperature and constant wall heat flux conditions. From the velocity vector
plot it was found that the fluid particles were undergoing an oscillatory
motion inside both the pipes.

From the pressure and temperature contours and velocity vectors it

was found that along the outer side of the pipes the velocity and pressure
values were higher in comparison to the inner values.

52
 REFERENCES

REFERENCES

1. Experimental and CFD study of a single phase cone-shaped

helical coiled heat exchanger: an empirical correlation. By Daniel
Flórez-Orrego, ECOS June 26-29, 2012.
2. Helically Coiled Heat Exchangers by J.S. Jaya kumar.

53
3. Numerical And Experimental Studies of a Double pipe Helical
Heat Exchanger by Timothy John Rennie, Dept. of Bio-resource
Engg. McGill University, Montreal August 2004.
4. Experimental and CFD estimation of heat transfer in helically
coiled heat exchangers by J.S. Jayakumar, S.M. Mahajani, J.C.
Mandal, P.K. Vijayan, and Rohidas Bhoi, 2008, Chemical Engg
Research and Design 221-232.
5. Heat Transfer Optimization of Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger
through CFD Studies by Usman Ur Rehman, 2011, Chalmers
University of Technology.
6. Structural and Thermal Analysis of Heat Exchanger with Tubes
of Elliptical Shape by Nawras H. Mostafa Qusay R. Al-Hagag,
IASJ, 2012,Vol-8 Issue-3.
7. Numerical analysis of forced convection heat transfer through
helical channels Dr. K. E. Reby Roy, IJEST, July-2012 vol-4.
8. Minton P.E., Designing Spiral Tube Heat Exchangers, Chemical
Engineering, May 1970, p. 145.
9. Noble, M.A., Kamlani, J.S., and McKetta, J.J., Heat Transfer in
Spiral Coils, Petroleum Engineer, April 1952, p. 723.
10. Heat Transfer Analysis of Helical Coil Heat Exchanger with
Circular and Square Coiled Pattern by Ashok B. Korane, P.S.
Purandare, K.V. Mali, IJESR, June 2012, vol-2, issue-6

54