Open Access

ARTICLE

CFD INVESTIGATIONS OF THERMAL AND DYNAMIC BEHAVIORS IN A TUBULAR HEAT EXCHANGER WITH BUTTERFLY BAFFLES

AlemKarima^a,*, Sahel Djamel^b , Nemdili Ali^c, Ameur Houari^d

a Faculté de Mécanique, Laboratoire de Carburants Gazeux et Environnement, USTO.MB, ALGERIA, BP 1505, El-M’Naouer, Oran 31000, Algeria
b Département des Sciences Techniques, Faculté de Technologie, Université Amar Telidji-Laghouat, Algeria
c Department of Hydraulics, Faculty of Architecture, USTO.MB, ALGERIA, BP 1505, El-M’Naouer, Oran 31000, Algeria
d Institute of Science and Technology, University Center Salhi Ahmed, BP 66, 45000 Naâma, Algeria.

* Corresponding Author: Email:

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer 2018, 10, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.5098/hmt.10.27

Abstract

In the present paper, the effects of a new baffle design on the efficiency of a tubular heat exchanger are numerically investigated. It concerns butterfly baffles inserted in a cylindrical tube heat exchanger. We focus on the influence of the shape of baffles, the space between baffles (pitch ratio, PR) and the baffle size (i.e. the blockage ratio, BR) on the heat transfer and flow characteristics. Three geometrical configurations with different PRs are realized (PR = 1, 2 and 4) and five others with different blockage ratios (BR = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5). The investigations are achieved for Reynolds numbers ranging from 3000 to 8000. All analyses are realized with the help of the CFD Fluent software. The numerical results are compared with available experimental data and a satisfactory agreement is found. The obtained results showed that the butterfly baffle with PR = 4 and BR = 0.1 is the best design that ensures the best flow mixing and increases the thermal enhancement factor by about 1.7 time with a moderate pressure drop.

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Keywords

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