Heat transfer and thermal efficiency enhancement using twisted tapes in sinusoidal wavy tubes with nanofluids: a numerical study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the study is to propose a novel implementation of twisted tape in sinusoidal wavy-walled tubes to enhance the rate of heat transfer without compromising thermal efficiency. The study numerically investigates the fluid flow characteristics and analyzes the effect of different geometrical configurations, including wall wave amplitude, tape twist angles and nanoparticle volume fractions, on heat transfer improvement and performance factor. Design/methodology/approach This problem is numerically investigated using computational fluid dynamics, and the method is the finite volume method. A two-phase mixture model is used for nanofluid modeling. Findings The study investigated the effect of wall waviness, twisted tape, and nanoparticles on forced convective heat transfer and friction factor behavior in laminar pipe flow in three different Reynolds number regimes. The results showed that implementing twisted tape in wavy tubes significantly increased the rate of heat transfer and the performance factor, with the best twist ratio between 90 and 180°. Adding nanoparticles also enhanced heat transfer and performance factor, but to a lesser extent than wavy wall-twisted tape combinations. The study suggests selecting a proper combination of wavy wall and twisted tape at each Reynolds number to achieve an optimum solution. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the implementation of the selected passive methods in sinusoidal wavy tubes has not been studied before, and no previous studies have taken into account such a mix of heat transfer improvement techniques.