Abstract
The present work represents a 3-D numerical investigation of forced convection heat transfer over circular and oval tube banks with longitudinal vortex generators (LVGs) for flow through a fin-and-tube heat exchanger. The thermo-hydraulic performance parameters are studied numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool. It is found that within the range of Reynolds number (500-850) studied, the degree of heat transfer enhancement is greatly influenced by the tube shape. Heat transfer increases by 13 % when the angle of attack is varied from 15° to 25°, with a corresponding pressure drop of 40 % and 62 % for the oval tubes and circular tubes, respectively. The effect of the aspect ratio of the oval tubes is observed to be very significant. Several other performance parameters of the oval and circular tube banks with vortex generators under the same operating conditions are compared with a focus on finding an optimal configuration.
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This work was supported by the Mechanical engineering department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh.
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Mohammad Rejaul Haque is working as a faculty member in MPE Dept. of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. He has recently received his Ph.D. degree from Kansas State University (USA). He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2013 and 2016, respectively. His research interest includes thermal energy, condensation and frosting, nano-micro scale fabrication, and CFD.
Md. Ashiqur Rahman is an Associate Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He received his Ph.D. degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA). His research interest includes thermal sciences, energy systems and fire dynamics.
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Haque, M.R., Rahman, A. Numerical investigation of convective heat transfer characteristics of circular and oval tube banks with vortex generators. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 457–467 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-1044-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-1044-0