Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521

www.elsevier.com/locate/etfs

A study of the heat transfer characteristics of a compact spiral coil

heat exchanger under wet-surface conditions
Paisarn Naphon, Somchai Wongwises *

Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow Research Lab. (FUTURE), Department of Mechanical Engineering,
King MongkutÕs University of Technology Thonburi, Bangmod, Bangkok 10140, Thailand

Received 5 March 2004; accepted 16 July 2004

Abstract

The heat transfer characteristics and the performance of a spiral coil heat exchanger under cooling and dehumidifying conditions
are investigated. The heat exchanger consists of a steel shell and a spirally coiled tube unit. The spiral-coil unit consists of six layers
of concentric spirally coiled tubes. Each tube is fabricated by bending a 9.27 mm diameter straight copper tube into a spiral-coil of
five turns. Air and water are used as working fluids. The chilled water entering the outermost turn flows along the spirally coiled
tube, and flows out at the innermost turn. The hot air enters the heat exchanger at the center of the shell and flows radially across
spiral tubes to the periphery. A mathematical model based on mass and energy conservation is developed and solved by using the
Newton–Raphson iterative method to determine the heat transfer characteristics. The results obtained from the model are in rea-
sonable agreement with the present experimental data. The effects of various inlet conditions of working fluids flowing through the
spiral coil heat exchanger are discussed.

2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Heat transfer characteristic; Spiral coil heat exchanger; Enthalpy effectiveness; Humidity effectiveness

1. Introduction nar and transition flows for forced convection heat

Due to the curvature of the tube, a centrifugal force is
generated as fluid flows through the curved tubes. Sec-
ondary flows induced by the centrifugal force has signif-
icant ability to enhance the heat transfer rate. Helical
and spiral coils are known types of curved tubes which
have been used in a wide variety of applications for
example, heat recovery processes, air conditioning and
refrigeration systems, chemical reactors, food and dairy
processes. Heat transfer and flow characteristics in
curved tubes have been widely studied by researchers
both experimentally and theoretically. Garimella et al.
[1] presented average heat transfer coefficients of lami-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +662 470 9115; fax: +662 470 9111.
E-mail address: somchai.won@kmutt.ac.th (S. Wongwises).
transfer in coiled annular ducts. Prabhanjan et al. [2]
compared the heat transfer rates between a helically
coiled heat exchanger and a straight tube heat exchan-
ger. Due to complexity of the heat transfer processes
in the curved tubes, experimental studies are very diffi-
cult to handle. Numerical investigations are needed.
Bolinder and Sunden [3] solved the parabolized
Navier–Stokes and energy equations by using a finite-
volume method. The steady, fully developed laminar
forced convective heat transfer in helical square ducts
for various Dean and Prandtl numbers were analyzed.
Zheng et al. [4] applied a control-volume finite difference
method with second-order accuracy for solving the
three-dimensional governing equations to analyze the
laminar force convection and thermal radiation in a par-
ticipating medium inside a helical pipe. Acharya et al. [5]
numerically studied the phenomenon of steady heat

0894-1777/$ - see front matter
2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2004.07.002
512 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521

Nomenclature

A area Le Lewis number

D tube diameter, m m total mass flow rate, kg/s
Eh enthalpy effectiveness Nu Nusselt number
Gmax mass flux based on minimum free flow area, Q heat transfer rate, W
kg/m2s Rmin minimum coil radius, m
h heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 C Re Reynolds number
hr combined conductance through tube surface t tube thickness, m
and water inside tube, W/m2 C x humidity ratio
i enthalpy, kJ/kg
J Colburn j factor Subscripts
k thermal conductivity, W/m C a air
M mass flow rate per coil, kg/s i inside
n number of coil turns L latent
Pr Prandtl number max maximum
r tube radius, m o outside
Rc coil characteristics, kg C/kJ s surface, wall
Rn average radius of curvature of each coil turn, sat saturated
m w water
T temperature, C avg average
U overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 C in inlet
a radius change per radian, m/radian m moist air
Cp specific heat, kJ/(kg C) min minimum
De Dean number out outlet
Ew humidity effectiveness S sensible
hD mass transfer coefficient, kg/m2s T total
ifg enthalpy of condensation, kJ/kg wv water vapor
j number of segments

transfer enhancement in coiled-tube heat exchangers due
to chaotic particle paths in steady, laminar flow with
two different mixings. The velocity vectors and temper-
ature fields were discussed. Lin and Ebadian [6] applied
the standard k–e model to investigate three-dimensional
turbulent developing convective heat transfer in helical
pipes with finite pitches. The effects of pitch, curvature
ratio and Reynolds number on the development of effec-
tive thermal conductivity and temperature fields, and
local and average Nusselt numbers were discussed. Sille-
kens et al. [7] employed the finite difference discretiza-
tion to solve the parabolized Navier–Stokes and
energy equations. The effect of buoyancy forces on heat
transfer and secondary flow was considered. In their sec-
ond paper, Rindt et al. [8] studied the development of
mixed convective flow with an axial varying wall tem-
perature. The results were compared with the constant
wall temperature boundary conditions. Lemenand and
Peerhossaini [9] simplified the Navier–Stokes and energy
equations as a thermal model to predict heat transfer
rates in a twisted pipe of two tube configurations, heli-
cally coiled or chaotic.
Compared to the numerous investigations in the
helically coiled tubes, there are few researches on the heat
transfer and flow characteristics in the spirally coiled
tube in open literature. The most productive studies have
been continuously carried out by Ho et al. [10–12]. The
relevant correlations of the tube-side and air-side heat
transfer coefficients reported in literature were used in
the simulation to determine the thermal performance of
the spiral-coil heat exchanger under cooling and dehu-
midifying conditions. The simulation results were vali-
dated by comparing with measured data. Due to the
lack of the heat transfer coefficient correlations obtained
directly from the spirally coiled tube configuration, Na-
phon and Wongwises [13] proposed a correlation for
the average in-tube heat transfer coefficient for a spiral
coil heat exchanger under dehumidifying conditions. Re-
cently, in their second and third papers (Naphon and
Wongwises [14,15]), mathematical models to determine
the performance and heat transfer characteristics of spi-
rally coiled finned tube heat exchangers under wet-sur-
face conditions and dry-surface conditions were
developed and investigated. There was reasonable agree-
ment between the results obtained from the experiment
and those from the developed model.
As mentioned above, only a few works on the heat
transfer characteristics in spiral coil heat exchangers
 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521
have been reported. In the present study, the heat trans-
fer characteristics and performance of a spiral coil heat
exchanger under cooling and dehumidifying conditions
which have never been investigated before, are studied.
The results obtained from the developed model are val-
idated by comparing with measured data. In addition,
the effects of relevant parameters on the model predic-
tion are also discussed.
2. Experimental apparatus and method
The experimental apparatus described in Naphon
and Wongwises [13] was used in the present study. A
schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus is
shown in Fig. 1. The test loop consists of a test section,
refrigerant loop, chilled water loop, hot air loop and
data acquisition system. The water and air are used as
working fluids. The test section is a spiral-coil heat ex-
changer which consists of a shell and spiral coil unit as
shown in Fig. 2. The test section and the connections
of the piping system are designed such that parts can
be changed or repaired easily. In addition to the loop
components, a full set of instruments for measuring
and controlling the temperature and flow rate of all flu-
ids is installed at all important points in the circuit.
Air is discharged by a centrifugal blower into the
channel and is passed through a straightener, heater,
guide vane, test section, and then discharged to the
atmosphere. The purpose of straightener is to avoid
the distortion of the air velocity profile. The speed of
the centrifugal blower is controlled by the inverter. Air
velocity is measured by a hot wire anemometer. The test
channel is fabricated from zinc, with an inner diameter
of 300 mm and a length of 12 m. The channel wall is
insulated with a 6.40 mm thick Aeroflex standard sheet.
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of experimental apparatus.
513
Air inlet
Water outlet
Water inlet
Air outlet
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the section of the spirally coiled tube
heat exchanger.
The inlet and outlet sections for hot air flowing through
the test section unit are shown in Fig. 2. The hot air
flows into the center core and then flows across the spi-
ral coils, radially outwards the wall of the shell before
leaving the heat exchanger at the air outlet section
(Fig. 2). The inlet temperature of the air is raised to
the desired level by using electric heaters controlled by
a temperature controller. The entering and exiting air
temperatures of the heat exchanger are measured by
type T copper–constantan thermocouples extending in-
side the air channel in which the air flows. The 1 mm
diameter thermocouple probes are located at different
four positions at the same cross section, 60 cm upstream
of the heat exchanger inlet and also four positions at
50 cm downstream of the exit of the heat exchanger.
The inlet and outlet relative humidities of air are de-
tected by humidity transmitters.
The chilled water loop consists of a 0.3 m3 storage
tank, an electric heater controlled by adjusting the volt-
age, a stirrer, and a cooling coil immerged inside a stor-
age tank. R22 is used as the refrigerant in the cooling
514 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521

coil. After the temperature of the water is adjusted to the Table 2

desired level, the chilled water is pumped out of the stor- Experimental conditions
age tank, and is passed through a filter, flow meter, test Variables Range
section, and returned to the storage tank. The by-pass is Inlet-air temperature, C 50–60
used for passing the excess water back to the water tank Inlet-water temperature, C 10–20
for the experiments of low water flow rate. The flow rate Air mass flow rate, kg/s 0.01–0.08
Water mass flow rate, kg/s 0.08–0.24
of the water is measured by a flow meter with a range of
0–10 GPM.
The spiral-coil heat exchanger consists of a steel shell
with a spirally coiled tube unit. The spiral-coil unit con- Table 3
sists of six layers of spirally coiled copper tubes. Each Uncertainty of measurement
tube is constructed by bending a 9.27 mm diameter Instruments Accuracy Uncertainty
straight copper tube into a spiral-coil of five turns. Hot wire anemometer (air velocity, m/s) 2.0% ±0.23
The innermost and outermost diameters of each spiral- Rotameter (water mass flow rate, kg/s) 0.2% ±0.003
coil are 6.77 and 22.76 cm, respectively. Each end of Thermocouple type T 0.1% ±0.03
Data logger, (C) 0.04%
the spiral-coils is connected to the vertical manifold tube
Humidity transmitter (%RH) 0.5% ±0.22
with outer diameter of 15.9 mm. The dimensions of the
spiral-coil heat exchanger are listed in Table 1. The cop-
per–constantan thermocouples are installed at the third
layer of the spiral-coil unit from the uppermost layer, in small increments while the hot air flow rate, inlet
each with two thermocouples to measure the water tem- chilled water and hot air temperatures were kept con-
perature and wall temperature. stant. The flow rate of hot air was controlled by adjust-
The water temperature is measured in five positions ing the speed of the centrifugal blower. An inverter was
with 1 mm diameter probes extending inside the tube used to control the speed of the motor for driving the
in which the water flows. Thermocouples are also blower. The inlet hot air and chilled water temperatures
mounted at five positions on the tube wall surface to were adjusted to the desired level by using electric heat-
measure the wall temperatures. Thermocouples are sol- ers controlled by temperature controllers. The system
dered into a small hole drilled 0.5 mm deep into tube was allowed to approach the steady state before data
wall surface and fixed with special glue applied to the were recorded. The steady state condition was reached
outside surface of the copper tubing. With this method, when the temperature and flow rates at all measuring
thermocouples are not biased by the fluid temperatures. points no longer fluctuated. After stabilization, the var-
An overall energy balance was performed to estimate iables at the locations mentioned above were recorded.
the extent of any heat losses or gains from the surround- Temperatures at each position were measured five times.
ings. In the present study, only the data that satisfy the Period of each measurement was five minutes. Finally,
energy balance conditions; jQw  Qaj/Qavg is less than temperature data at each position was averaged over
0.05, are used in the analysis. The total heat transfer the time period. The range of experimental conditions
rate, Qavg, is averaged from the air-side heat transfer in this study and uncertainty of the measurement are
rate, Qa, and the water-side heat transfer rate, Qw. given in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.
Experiments were conducted with various temperatures
and flow rates of hot air and chilled water entering the
test section. The chilled water flow rate was increased 3. Mathematical modelling

The heat transfer characteristics of the compact spiral

Table 1 coil heat exchanger under wet-surface conditions can be
Dimensions of the spirally coiled tube heat exchanger determined from the conservation equations of mass
Parameters Dimensions and energy. The mathematical model is based on that
Outer diameter of tube, mm 9.3 of Ho et al. [12] and, Naphon and Wongwises [14] with
Inner diameter of tube, mm 7.8 the following assumptions:
Innermost diameter of spiral coil, mm 67.8
Outermost diameter of spiral coil, mm 227.6 • Flows of air and water are steady.
Number of coil turns 5
• There is no heat loss between the system and
Number of spiral coils 6
Distance between the spiral coil layer, mm 13.7 surrounding.
Diameter of shell, mm 300 • Air-side convective heat transfer coefficients at each
Length of shell, mm 250 section of a coil turn in horizontal plane is equal.
Diameter of hole at air- inlet, mm 65 • Water-side convective heat transfer coefficient at each
Diameter of closed plate at air-outlet, mm 230
section of a coil turn in horizontal plane is equal.
 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521 515

• Thermal resistance of liquid film is neglected. C p;m ¼ C p;a þ xa C p;wv ð6Þ

• Each completed coil turn is approximately circular.
Substituting Eq. (6) into Eq. (5) and assuming Le is
• Thermal conductivity of the spirally coiled tube is
approximately equal to 1, we get
constant.  
ho dAo
dQT ¼ ðia;in  isat;s Þ ð7Þ
C p;m
3.1. Air-side heat transfer
where ia, in is the inlet enthalpy of air, and isat, s is the
enthalpy at saturated conditions at tube surface
When the surface temperature of the spirally coiled
temperature.
heat exchanger is below the dew-point temperature of
the in-coming air, a portion of the vapor in the humid
3.2. Water-side heat transfer
air stream is condensed on the coil surface and removed
as liquid. By considering the control volume of each seg-
The heat transfer rate in terms of the water flow rate
ment in Fig. 3, the total heat transfer rate is determined
can be given as
from the sum of latent and sensible heat as follows:
dQT ¼ M w C p;m dT w ð8Þ
dQT ¼ dQS þ dQL ð1Þ
The heat transfer rate to the water can be expressed as
where dQT, dQS, and dQL are the total heat, sensible
heat and latent heat, respectively. dQT ¼ hr dAo ðT s  T w Þ ð9Þ
dQS ¼ ho dAo ðT a;in  T s Þ ð2Þ where
where ho is the air-side heat transfer coefficient, dAo is 1 tdAo dAo
¼ þ ð10Þ
the outside surface area, Ta,in is the inlet-air tempera- hr kAave dAi hi
ture, and Ts is the tube surface temperature. where t is the tube thickness, Aave is the average surface
The heat released is given by the following latent heat area, and hr is the combined conductance through the
transfer rate: tube surface and water inside tube.
dQL ¼ dM wv ifg ð3Þ
3.3. Energy balance
where ifg is the enthalpy of condensation and dMwv is
the mass transfer rate of the water vapor, defined as
Considering the energy balance over the control vol-
dM wv ¼ hD dAo ðxa;in  xsat;s Þ ð4Þ ume for each segment, we get
where hD is the mass transfer coefficient, xa,in is the inlet ho dAo
ðia;in  isat;s Þ ¼ hr dAo ðT s  T w Þ ð11Þ
humidity ratio of air, and xsat,s is the humidity ratio at C p;m
saturated conditions at the tube surface temperature.
Rearranging gives
Substituting Eqs. (2)–(4) into Eq. (1) gives
   ho ðT s  T w Þ
ho 1 ¼ ¼ Rc ð12Þ
dQT ¼ C p;m ðT a;in  T s Þ þ ðxa;in  xsat;s Þifg hr C p;m ðia;in  isat;s Þ
C p;m dAo Le
ð5Þ The enthalpy of the saturated air, isat,s, at the wet surface
temperature in Eq. (12) is determined from a equation
where the Lewis number, Le, is defined by Le ¼ hDhCop;m used by Ho and Wijeysundera [12]:
The specific heat of the moist air, Cp,m, is the sum of
the specific heat of dry air and water vapor isat;s ¼ 10:90748 þ 1:22045T s þ 0:05652T 2s ð13Þ

Air flow Air flow

Wate r flow Ta,out , ia,out, ωa,out Tube wall
j+1
j
j-1

1
Rn-1
n-1 n n+1 Tw,out Tw,in
dθ 2 Water flow
3

Ts,out Ts,in
Ta,in, ia,in, ω a,in
Air flow Air flow
Air flow

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of simulation approach and control volume of each segment.
516 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521

Substituting Eq. (13) into Eq. (12) and rearranging, we segment of the innermost coil turn and then is done seg-
get ment by segment along the circular coil turn. In order to
  solve the model, relevant tube-side and air-side heat
1
0:05652T 2s þ 1:22045 þ Ts transfer coefficients are needed. The following correla-
Rc
  tion proposed by Naphon and Wongwises [13] for the
Tw spirally coiled tube is used to predict tube-side heat
þ 10:90749  ia;in  ¼0 ð14Þ
Rc transfer coefficients.
The energy balance over the control volume for each hi d i
segment may be written in terms of the water flow rate Nui ¼ ¼ 27:358De0:287 Pr0:949 ð22Þ
k
as follows:
  for 300 < De < 2200, Pr P 5
T s;out þ T s;in T w;out  T w;in
hr dAo  The air-side heat transfer coefficient correlation of the
2 2
spirally coiled heat exchanger for wet-surface conditions
¼ M w C p;w ðT w;out  T w;in Þ ð15Þ was also developed from the same experimental data of
On rearranging, we get Naphon and Wongwises [13]. The equation is as follows:
1 ho
T w;out ¼ ðb½T s;out þ T s;in   T w;in ½b  1Þ ð16Þ J¼ Pr2=3 ¼ 0:135Re0:318
o ð23Þ
ðb þ 1Þ Gmax C p;m
where for Reo < 6000
hr dAo In addition, the spiral coil heat exchanger configura-
b¼ ð17Þ tions and properties of working fluids, as well as the
2M w C p;w
operating conditions, are also needed. The iteration
Eq. (14) can be written in term of Ts,out and Ts,in, as process is described as follows:
follows:
  • The outlet-water temperature is assumed.
1
0:05652T 2s;out þ 1:22045 þ T s;out • Eqs. (16), (19) and (20) are solved simultaneously by
Rc
  using the Newton–Raphson method to obtain the
T w;out inlet-tube temperature, (Ts,in), outlet-tube surface
þ 10:90749  ia;in  ¼0 ð18Þ
Rc temperatures, (Ts,out), water temperature, (Tw,in), at
and Segment 1.
  • The heat transfer rate, (Q), and the outlet-air temper-
1 ature, (Ta,out), are calculated.
0:05652T 2s;in
þ 1:22045 þ T s;in
Rc • The computation described above is next performed
 
T w;in at segment 2 and then the remaining segments in turn
þ 10:90749  ia;in  ¼0 ð19Þ
Rc until the last one.
• The same computation is performed at the next circu-
Substituting Eq. (16) into Eq. (18) we get lar coil.
 
2 1 b • The computation is terminated when the calculation
0:05652T s;out þ 1:22045 þ  T s;out
Rc Rcðb þ 1Þ at the last segment of the outermost coil turn is
1 finished.
þ 10:90749  ia;in  ½bT s;in  ðb  1ÞT w;in  ¼ 0 • The calculated water temperature at the last segment
Rcðb þ 1Þ
of the outermost coil turn is compared with the inlet-
ð20Þ water temperature (initial condition). If the difference
is within 106, the calculations is ended, and if not,
another outlet-water temperature value of the first
4. Solution method segment at the innermost coil turn is tried and the
computations are repeated until convergence is
The spiral-coil unit consists of six layers of spirally obtained.
coiled tubes. Each coiled tube is divided into five circular
coil turns having the following mean radius:
Rn ¼ ðRmin þ ð2n  1ÞapÞ ð21Þ
5. Results and discussion
where Rmin is the minimum coil radius, n is the number
of coil turns, and a is of radius change per radian. Fig. 4 shows the variation of the outlet-air tempera-
Each circular coil turn can be divided into several seg- tures with air mass flow rate obtained from the experi-
ments as shown in Fig. 3. The calculation begins at the ment for the different water mass flow rates of 0.11
 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521 517

60 25
m w (kg/s) Experiment Mathematical model
55 m w (kg/s) Experiment Mathematical model

O utle t wa ter temp eratur e ( C )

0.11
0.11
Outlet air temperature ( C)

o
50 0.19
20 0.19
o

45

40 15

35
o
30 Ta,in = 50 C 10 o
o T a,in = 50 C
T w,in = 11.5 C o
25 T w,in = 11.5 C
ω a,in = 0.04
ω a,in = 0.04
20
5
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07
Air mass flow rate (kg/s)
Air mass flow rate (kg/s)
Fig. 4. Variation of the outlet-air temperatures with air mass flow rate Fig. 6. Variation of the outlet-water temperatures with air mass flow
for different water mass flow rates. rate for different water mass flow rates.

and 0.19 kg/s. At an inlet-air temperature of 50 C, inlet-

temperatures of 50 and 55 C. As expected, the inlet-
water temperature of 11.5 C and inlet-air humidity ratio
air temperature has significant effect on the outlet-air
of 0.04, the outlet-air temperature tends to increase as
temperature.
air mass flow rate increases. At the same air mass flow
Fig. 6 shows the variation of the outlet-water temper-
rate, the outlet-air temperature at mw = 0.11 kg/s seems
atures with air mass flow rate for the different water
slightly higher than that at mw = 0.19 kg/s. However,
mass flow rates of 0.11 and 0.19 kg/s. For an inlet-water
the effect of the water mass flow rate on the outlet-air
temperature of 11.5 C, inlet-air temperature of 50 C,
temperature in the present experiment is quite low.
and inlet-air humidity ratio of 0.04, the increase of the
The average difference between the measured data is
heat transfer rate resulted in an increase of the outlet-
4.4%. The present numerical results are validated by
air temperature (Fig. 5) has a significant effect on the in-
comparing with experimental data. It can be noted that
crease of the outlet-water temperature. As the outlet-air
the model slightly underpredicts the present measured
temperature increases, the temperature difference be-
data at low air mass flow rate region. The low flow rate
tween inlet-and outlet-air temperature decreases. There-
of air, together with the temperature which is higher
fore, the air mass flow rate must be increased for
than the ambient air downstream, causes the measured
keeping the heat transfer rate equal to the water side.
outlet-air temperatures to be higher than the calculated
Therefore, it can be clearly seen that the outlet-water
ones. Fig. 5 shows the variation of the outlet-air temper-
temperature increases with increasing air mass flow rate.
ature with air mass flow rate for the different inlet-air
At the same inlet-air and-water temperatures, inlet-air
humidity ratio and air mass flow rate, the outlet-water
temperature at lower water flow rate is higher than that
60 at higher water flow rate. This is because at a specific air
55
o
Ta,in ( C)
mass flow rate, inlet-air and-water temperatures the
Experiment Mathematical model
water mass flow rate slightly affects the outlet-air tem-
Outlet air temperature ( C)

50
perature. In other words, the heat transfer rate absorbed
o

50 55

45
by the chilled water is mainly dependent on the mass
flow rate and the outlet-water temperature. Therefore
40 the lower water flow rate gives the higher water-outlet
temperature. Considering Fig. 7, which shows the effect
35
of inlet-air temperature on the outlet-water temperature,
30 Tw,in = 11.5 oC it is clearly seen that at the same air mass flow rate, the
m w = 0.11 kg/s outlet-water temperature at Ta,in = 50 C is lower than at
25 ωa,in = 0.04
Ta,in = 55 C. The reason for this is similar to the one as
20 described above. At a specific inlet-water temperature,
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 inlet-air humidity ratio, and water and air mass flow
Air mass flow rate (kg/s) rates, the increase of the outlet-water temperature re-
Fig. 5. Variation of the outlet-air temperatures with air mass flow rate sults in the increases of the outlet-air temperature and
for different inlet-air temperatures. the heat transfer rate. Again, in order to keep the heat
518 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521

25 25
Ta,in (oC) Experiment Mathematical model
Ta,in (oC)
O u t l e t w a t e r t em p e r a t u r e ( C )

Tube surface temperature ( C )

Experiment Mathematical model 50
o

o
50 55
20 55 20

15 15

o
10 Tw,in = 11.5oC 10 Tw,in = 11.5 C
m w = 0.11 kg/s m w = 0.11 kg/s
ωa,in = 0.04 ωa,in = 0.04

5 5
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07
Air mass flow rate (kg/s) Air mass flow rate (kg/s)

Fig. 7. Variation of the outlet-water temperatures with air mass flow Fig. 9. Variation of the tube surface temperatures with air mass flow
rate for different inlet-air temperatures. rate for different inlet-air temperatures.

transfer rate equal to the water-side heat transfer rate, the inlet air temperature have insignificant effects on
the inlet-air temperature must be increased. Considering the tube surface temperature. Again, considering the
the results obtained from the present model and those predicted and measured results, it is found that the
obtained from the experiment, it can be clearly seen model overpredicts the measured data. It may be be-
from figure that the predicted outlet-water temperature cause, in experiment, the tube surface is chilled by the
is higher than the measured one. This may be due to liquid film.
the fact that the thermal resistance of the liquid film that Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate the variations of the enth-
covers the tube surface is not included in the mathemat- alpy effectiveness and humidity effectiveness with air
ical model causing higher heat transfer rate from hot air mass flow rate, respectively at Tw,in = 11.5 C, mw =
to chilled water. 0.11 kg/s, xa,in = 0.04, for different inlet-air temperatures
Figs. 8 and 9 show the variations of the tube surface of 50 and 55 C. For the whole range of inlet-water tem-
temperatures with air mass flow rate. The tube surface perature, it is found that the tube surface temperatures is
temperature is measured at the 3rd layer from the upper- always lower than the dew-point temperature of the air.
most layer in five positions in which the water flows. It This results in condensing out of the moisture. The total
can be seen from both figures that the trends of the tube load-removal performance and the latent load-removal
surface temperature are similar to those of the outlet- performance of the spiral coil heat exchanger can be pre-
water temperature curves as shown in Figs 6 and 7. It sented in terms of the enthalpy effectiveness and humid-
can be clearly seen that the water mass flow rate and ity effectiveness, respectively, as follows

1.0
25
m w (kg/s) Experiment Ta,in (oC) Experiment Mathematical model
Mathematical model
Tube surface temperature ( C )

0.11 0.8 50
o

Enthalpy effectiveness

55
20 0.19

0.6

15
0.4

o
Ta,in = 50 C
o Tw,in = 11.5 C
10
0.2 mw = 0.11 kg/s
Tw,in = 11.5oC
ωa,in = 0.04
ωa,in = 0.04

5 0.0
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07

Air mass flow rate (kg/s) Air mass flow rate (kg/s)

Fig. 8. Variation of the tube surface temperatures with air mass flow Fig. 10. Variation of the enthalpy effectivenesses with air mass flow
rate for different water mass flow rates. rate for different inlet-air temperatures.
 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521 519

1.0 1.0
o
Ta,in ( C) Experiment Mathematical model mw (kg/s) Experiment Mathematical model
0.8 50 0.8 0.11
Humidity effectiveness

Enthalpy effectiveness
55
0.19

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

Tw,in = 11.5 oC o
Ta,in = 50 C
0.2 mw = 0.11 kg/s 0.2 Tw,in = 11.5oC
ωa,in = 0.04 ωa,in = 0.04

0.0 0.0
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07

Air mass flow rate (kg/s) Air mass flow rate (kg/s)

Fig. 11. Variation of the humidity effectivenesses with air mass flow Fig. 12. Variation of the enthalpy effectivenesses with air mass flow
rate for different inlet-air temperatures. rate for different water mass flow rates.

ia;in  ia;out 1.0

Enthalpy effectiveness; Eh ¼ ð24Þ
ia;in  isat;s m w (kg/s) Experiment Mathematical model
0.11
xa;in  xa;out 0.8
Humidity effectiveness; Ew ¼ ð25Þ
Humidity effectiveness

0.19
xa;in  xsat;s
The humidity ratio of saturated air, xsat,s, at the wet- 0.6
surface conditions can be obtained from the correlation
given by Laing et al. [16] 0.4

xsat;s ¼ ð3:7444 þ 0:3078T s þ 0:0046T 2s Ta,in = 50oC

0.2 Tw,in = 11.5 oC
þ 0:0004T 3s Þ 103 ð26Þ ωa,in = 0.04

It is found from Figs. 10 and 11 that the enthalpy 0.0

0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07
effectiveness and the humidity effectiveness decrease
with increasing air mass flow rate for a given inlet-water Air mass flow rate (kg/s)
temperature, inlet-air humidity ratio, and water mass
Fig. 13. Variation of the humidity effectivenesses with air mass flow
flow rate. Increasing of the air mass flow rate directly af-
rate for different water mass flow rates.
fects the outlet enthalpy, ia,out, enthalpy of saturated air,
isat,s, outlet humidity ratio, xa,out, and humidity ratio of
saturated air, xsat,s. However, the increases of the outlet cant effect on the enthalpy effectiveness and humidity
enthalpy and outlet humidity ratio of air are larger than effectiveness. The average difference between experimen-
those of the enthalpy of saturated air and humidity ratio tal data are 5% and 5.5%, respectively. The uncertainties
of saturated air. Therefore, the enthalpy effectiveness of the experimental enthalpy and humidity effective-
and humidity effectiveness tend to decrease with increas- nesses are between 0.34–0.56% and 0.5–0.93%, respec-
ing air mass flow rate. It can be noted that the air inlet tively. In general, the shape of the predicted and
temperature has an insignificant effect on the enthalpy observed enthalpy effectiveness and humidity effective-
effectiveness and humidity effectiveness. However, at a ness profiles agree well.
given lower air mass flow rate, higher inlet-air tempera- A number of graphs can be drawn from the output of
ture may lead to a slight increase in enthalpy effective- the simulation but, because of the space limitation, only
ness and humidity effectiveness. The average typical results are shown. Fig. 14 illustrates the variation
discrepancies between experimental data are about of the predicted outlet-air temperatures with air mass
4.8% and 8.7%, respectively. Figs. 12 and 13 show the flow rate for various water mass flow rates. It can be
variation of enthalpy effectiveness with air mass flow clearly seen from figure that the outlet-air temperature
rate and that of humidity effectiveness with air mass flow increases rapidly in the low air mass flow rate region
rate, respectively. It can be clearly seen from the exper- and then increases moderately as air mass flow
imental that the water mass flow rate show an insignifi- rate increases. In addition, the decrease of outlet-air
520 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521

60 40
Ta,in = 60oC Ta,in = 60oC
35

Tube surface temperature ( C)

55 Tw,in = 10 oC Tw,in = 10oC
Outlet air temperature ( C)

o
ωa,in = 0.04 ωa,in = 0.04
o

30
50
25

45 20

m w (kg/s) 15
40 mw (kg/s)
0.05
0.10 10 0.05
0.15 0.10
35 0.50 0.15
5 0.50

30 0
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
Air mass flow rate (kg/s)
Air mass flow rate (kg/s)
Fig. 14. Variation of the outlet-air temperatures with air mass flow
Fig. 16. Variation of the tube surface temperatures with air mass flow
rate for different water mass flow rates
rate for different water mass flow rates.

temperature becomes relatively smaller as water mass

0.55
flow rate increases.
Fig. 15 shows the effect of inlet-air temperature on 0.50 Ta,in (oC)
the tube surface temperature. At a specific inlet-air tem- 50
Enthalpy effectiveness

perature, the tube surface temperature generally in- 0.45 60

creases with increasing air mass flow rate, however, 70
0.40 80
the increase of the tube surface temperature at higher
inlet-air temperatures is higher than at lower ones for 0.35
the same range of air mass flow rates. In addition, at
any air mass flow rate, the tube surface temperature in- 0.30 Tw,in = 10oC
creases relatively constantly with increasing inlet-air mw = 0.15 kg/s
temperature. The effect of water mass flow rate on the 0.25 ωa,in = 0.04

tube surface temperature is shown in Fig. 16. It can be

0.20
found that at a specific air mass flow rate, the tube sur- 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
face temperature decreases as water mass flow increases.
Figs. 17 and 18 show the variations of the enthalpy Air mass flow rate (kg/s)
effectivenesses and humidity effectivenesses with air Fig. 17. Variation of the enthalpy effectivenesses with air mass flow
mass flow rate for various inlet-air temperatures, respec- rate for different inlet-air temperatures.

40 0.60
o
35 Tw,in = 10 C 0.55 Ta,in ( oC)
Tube surface temperature ( C)

mw = 0.15 kg/s
o

30 ωa,in = 0.04 50
Humidity effectiveness

0.50
60
25 70
0.45 80
20 0.40
o
Ta,in ( C)
15 0.35
50
10 60 o
0.30 Tw,in = 10 C
70
mw = 0.15 kg/s
5 80
0.25 ωa,in = 0.04

0 0.20
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
Air mass flow rate (kg/s) Air mass flow rate (kg/s)

Fig. 15. Variation of the tube surface temperatures with air mass flow Fig. 18. Variation of the humidity effectivenesses with air mass flow
rate for different inlet-air temperatures. rate for different inlet-air temperatures.
 P. Naphon, S. Wongwises / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 29 (2005) 511–521
tively. It should be noted that the enthalpy effectiveness
and humidity effectiveness decrease with increasing air
mass flow rate. These effectivenesses decrease rapidly
in the low air mass flow rate region and then decrease
moderately as the air mass flow rate increases. For a
specific air mass flow rate at constant inlet-air and-
water temperatures, both effectivenesses increase with
increasing inlet-air temperature. The same explanation
described above for Figs. 17 and 18 can be given.
6. Conclusions
New experimental data from the measurement of the
heat transfer characteristics and the performance of a
spiral coil heat exchanger under cooling and humidify-
ing conditions are presented. The results obtained from
the developed model are validated by comparing with
the measured data. The effects of the inlet conditions
of the working fluids flowing through the spirally coiled
heat exchanger are discussed. The following conclusions
can be given:
• There is reasonable agreement between the results
obtained from the experiment and those from the
developed model.
• Air mass flow rate and inlet-air temperature have sig-
nificant effect on the increase of the outlet-air and-
water temperatures.
• The outlet-air and water temperatures decrease with
increasing water mass flow rate.
• The enthalpy effectiveness and humidity effectiveness
decrease as the air and water mass flow rates increase.
• The enthalpy effectiveness and humidity effectiveness
increase as the inlet-air temperature increases.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their appreciation
to the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) for providing
financial support for this study. The authors also wish
to acknowledge Miss Supajaree Maroongruang, Mr.
Anucha Kasikapast and Mr. Chanit Somphol, for their
assistance in some of the experimental work.
521
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