Numerical simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer in shell side of twisted tube heat exchanger

The twisted tube attracts more attention owning to its perfect enhanced heat transfer characteristics.The research and numerical simulation on the flow and heat transfer performance of twisted tube were performed.It verifies that in a low Re the twisted tube has a better effect on heat enhancement compared with the normal circular tube.The characteristics of fluid flow and heat transfer in the shell side of twisted tube heat exchanger were studied with commercial software FLUENT.The distributions of velocity vectors,temperature field,pressure drop and particle pathlines were gained while velocity altered from 0.3 m/s to 1.0 m/s.The results of simulation show that the pressure drop in shell side is decreased and the heat transfer in shell side is enhanced.Comparing the results of simulation and experiment,they are in a good agreement,and the error is within ±12%.