CFD ANALYSIS

CFD ANALYSIS OF HEAT TRANSFER IN A HELICAL

COIL HEAT EXCHANGER USING FLUENT
A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of

Bachelor of technology
In
Mechanical engineering
By
[Link] Krishna (183J5A0354)
[Link] (183J5A0339)
[Link] (183J5A0360)
B. Ravi teja (183J5A0308)
A. Satish Kumar (183J5A0302)
Under the guidance of
Mr. [Link]
Assistant professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering

RAGHU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous)

(Approved by AICTE, New Delhi, Accredited by NBA,

Affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada)
Dakamarri, Bheemunipatnam Mandal
VISAKHAPATNAM
2020-2021
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Department of Mechanical Engineering

RAGHU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous)

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the work in this thesis entitled “CFD analysis of heat transfer in a
helical coil heat exchanger using fluent” by S. Vamsi Krishna (183J5A0354), M. Anil
(183J5A0339), V. Yaswanth (183J5A0360), B. Raviteja (183J5A0308), A. Satish Kumar
(183J5A0302) has been carried out under our supervision in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering during
session 2020-2021 in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Raghu Institute of
Technology, Visakhapatnam.

To the best of our knowledge, this work has not been submitted to any other
University/Institute for the award of any degree or diploma.

Project Guide Head of the Department

Mr. K. Venkatesh Dr. P. Vijay Kumar
Assistant Professor Professor and Head Of The Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Raghu Institute of Technology Raghu Institute of Technology
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are extremely fortunate to be involved in an exciting and challenging research

project like “CFD analysis of heat transfer in a helical coil heat exchanger using fluent”.
It has enriched our life, giving us an opportunity to work in a new environment of Fluent. This
project increased our thinking and understanding capability as we started the project from
scratch. We would like to express our greatest gratitude and respect to our guide Mr. K.
Venkatesh, for his excellent guidance, valuable suggestions and endless support. He has not
only been a wonderful guide but also a genuine person. We consider ourselves extremely
lucky to be able to work under the guidance of such a dynamic personality. Actually he is one
of such genuine person for whom our words will not be enough to express.

We are also thankful to Dr. P. Vijay Kumar Professor and H.O.D of Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Raghu Institute of Technology, Visakhapatnam for his constant
support and encouragement.

Last, but not the least we extend our sincere thanks to all faculty members of
Mechanical Engineering department for making our project a successful one, for their valuable
advice in every stage and also giving us absolute working environment where we unlashed my
potential. I would like to thank all whose direct and indirect support helped us completing our
project in time.

Simhadri Vamsi Krishna (183J5A0354)

Mamidi Anil (183J5A0339)
Vennela Yaswanth (183J5A0360)
Boda Ravi teja (183J5A0308)
Arigi Satish Kumar (183J5A0302)

Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical Engineering

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CONTENTS
Certificate 2

Acknowledgement 3

List Of Tables 6

List Of Figures 7

Abstract 9

Nomenclature 10

1. Introduction About The Project 12

1.1 Tubular Heat Exchangers 13

1.2 Double Pipe Heat Exchanger 13

1.3 Heat Transfer Coefficients 14

1.4 Advantages and Disadvantages 15

1.5 Applications 16

1.6 Aim of Present Work 16

1.7 Introduction to CFD 16

1.8 Organization of Thesis 18

2. Literature Survey 19

3. CFD Analysis 22

3 Introduction & CFD Programs 23

3.1 Geometry 28
3.1.1 Sketching
3.1.2 Sweep
3.1.3 Merging

3.2 Mesh 30

3.2.1 y+ values 30
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3.2.2 Named Selection 31

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3.3 Solution 32

3.3.1 Problem Setup 32

3.3.2 Models 32
3.3.3 Materials 32
3.3.4 Cell Zone Conditions 32
3.3.5 Boundary Conditions 33
3.3.6 Reference Values 34
3.3.7 Solution Methods 34
3.3.8 Solution Control and Initialization 35
3.3.9 Measure of Convergence
3.3.10 Run Calculation 36
3.3.11 Grid Independent Test

4. Results and Discussions 37

4.1 Mass Flow Rate and Total Heat Transfer Rate 38

4.2 Contours 39

4.3 Vectors 43

4.4 Plots 45

5. Conclusions 47

6. References 49

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LIST OF TABLES

FIGURE NO CAPTION PAGE NO

1 Naming of various parts of the body 29

2 y+ values for different wall treatments 30

3 Boundary conditions 33

4 Residuals 35

5 Mass flow rate 38

6 Total heat transfer rate 38

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO CAPTION PAGE NO

1 (A) Double Pipe Helical Coil 10

1 (B) Close-Up of Double Pipe Coil 10

2 Wall Convection 11

3 Original Geometry 21

4 Geometry for Meshing 21

5 Mesh 23

6 Close-Up View of The Mesh 23

7 Named Selections 24

8 Contours of Dynamic Pressure In Pascal 30

9 Contours of Total Pressure In Pascal 30

10 Contours of Static Temperature 31

11 Contours of Turbulent Dissipation Rate 31

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12 Contours of Turbulent Kinetic Energy 32

13 Contours of Effective Thermal Conductivity 32

14 Contours of Total Surface Heat Flux 33

15 Contours of Cell Reynolds Number 33

16 Contours of Effective Prandtl Number 34

17 Velocity Vectors Colored by Velocity Magnitude 34

Velocity Vectors Colored by Velocity Magnitude -

18 Close Up 35

19 Velocity Vectors Colored by Static Pressure 35

20 Scaled Residuals 36

21 Wall Shear Stress Plot 36

22 Total Pressure Plot 37

23 Surface Nusselt Number 37

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ABSTRACT

Heat exchangers are the important engineering systems with wide variety of
applications including power plants, nuclear reactors, refrigeration and air-conditioning
systems, heat recovery systems, chemical processing and food industries. Helical coil
configuration is very effective for heat exchangers and chemical reactors because they can
accommodate a large heat transfer area in a small space, with high heat transfer
coefficients. This project deals with the analysis of the helical coiled heat exchanger with
various correlations given by different papers for specific conditions. Although various
configurations are available, the basic and most common design consists of a series of
stacked helically coiled tubes placed in a cylindrical outer cover. The inner tube ends are
connected to manifolds, which act as fluid entry and exit locations. And the outer tube is
also provided with inlet and outlet manifolds so that cooling fluid can be passed through it.
The tube bundle is constructed of a number of tubes stacked atop each other, and the entire
bundle is placed inside a helical casing, or shell. The complex fluid-dynamic inside curved
pipe heat exchangers gives them important advantages over the performance of straight
tubes in terms of area/volume ratio and enhancing of heat transfer and mass transfer
coefficient. Convective heat transfer between a surface and the surrounding fluid in a heat
exchanger has been a major issue and a topic of study for a long time. The analysis of these
various correlations with certain defined data is presented in this project. In this study, an
attempt has been made to analyze the effect of counter-flow on the total heat transfer from a
helical tube. The temperature contours, velocity vectors, surface nusselt number, total heat
transfer rate from the wall of the tube was calculated and plotted using ANSYS R21.
Copper was chosen as the metal for the construction of the helical tube. The fluid flowing
through the inner tube and outer casing was taken as water.
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NOMENCLATURE
A = area of heat transfer (m2)
De= Dean Number
H = heat transfer coefficient (Wm−2 K−1)
H = tube pitch (m)
K = thermal conductivity (Wm−1K−1)
L= length of the pipe (m)
Nu= Nusselt number
Pr = Prandtl number
Q = heat transferred (W)
R= inner radius of the tube (m)
R = resistance the flow of thermal energy
Rc = pitch circle radius of the pipe (m)
(W−1m2K)
Re= Reynolds number
U = velocity (ms−1) −2K−1)

U = overall heat transfer coefficient (Wm

V= volume (m3)
Α = helix angle (rad)
δ = curvature ratio
t= (temperature) difference (K)
µ = viscosity (kgm−1s−1)
ρ = density (kgm−3)
av = average
i = internal
LM = log mean
o = external
ov = overall
w = wall
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE PROJECT

Heat exchange between flowing fluids is one of the most important physical process of
concern, and a variety of heat exchangers are used in different type of installations, as in process
industries, compact heat exchangers nuclear power plant, HVACs, food processing, refrigeration,
etc. The purpose of constructing a heat exchanger is to get an efficient method of heat transfer from
one fluid to another, by direct contact or by indirect contact. The heat transfer occurs by three
principles: conduction, convection and radiation. In a heat exchanger the heat transfer through
radiation is not taken into account as it is negligible in comparison to conduction and convection.
Conduction takes place when the heat from the high temperature fluid flows through the
surrounding solid wall. The conductive heat transfer can be maximized by selecting a minimum
thickness of wall of a highly conductive material. But convection is plays the major role in the
performance of a heat exchanger.

Forced convection in a heat exchanger transfers the heat from one moving stream to another
stream through the wall of the pipe. The cooler fluid removes heat from the hotter fluid as it flows
along or across it.

Classification of Heat Exchanger

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1.1 Tubular Heat Exchangers:

Tubular heat exchangers are built of mainly of circular tubes although some other geometry
has also been used in different applications. This type of construction offers a large amount of
flexibility in design as the designing parameters like the diameter, length and the arrangement can
be easily modified. This type is used for liquid-to-liquid (phase changing like condensing or
evaporation) heat transfer. Again this type is classified into shell and tube, double pipe and spiral
tube heat exchangers.

1.2 Double Pipe Heat Exchanger:

The double pipe or the tube in tube type heat exchanger consists of one pipe placed
concentrically inside another pipe having a greater diameter. The flow in this configuration can be
of two types: parallel flow and counter-flow. It can be arranged in a lot of series and parallel
configurations to meet the different heat transfer requirements. Of this the helically arranged stands
out as it has found its place in different industrial applications. As this configuration is widely used,
knowledge about the heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and different flow patterns has been of
much importance. The curvature in the tubes creates a secondary flow, which is normal to the
primary axial direction of flow. This secondary flow increases the heat transfer between the wall
and the flowing fluid. And they offer a greater heat transfer area within a small space, with greater
heat transfer coefficients. Study has been done on the types of flows in the curved pipes, and the
effect of Prandtl and Reynolds number on the flow patterns and on Nusselt numbers. The two basic
boundary conditions that are faced in the applications are constant temperature and the constant
heat flux of the wall.

Fig.1(a) Double pipe helical coil Fig.1(b) Close-up of double pipe coil
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1.3 Heat Transfer Coefficient:

Convective heat transfer is the transfer of heat from one place to another by the movement
of fluids due to the difference in density across a film of the surrounding fluid over the hot surface.
Through this film heat transfer takes place by thermal conduction and as thermal conductivity of
most fluids is low, the main resistance lies there. Heat transfer through the film can be enhanced by
increasing the velocity of
the fluid flowing over the surface which results in reduction in
thickness of film. The equation for rate of heat transfer by
convection under steady state is given by,

Q = h A (Tw - Tatm)

Where, h-is the film coefficient or surface coefficient (W/m2.K).

A is the area of the wall,

Tw is the wall temperature,

Tatm is surrounding temperature. Figure 2 Wall Convection

The value of ‘h’ depends upon the properties of fluid within the film region; hence it is
called ‘Heat Transfer Coefficient’. It depends on various properties of fluid, linear dimensions of
surface and fluid velocity (i.e. nature of flow).

The overall heat transfer coefficient is the overall transfer rate of a series or parallel
combination of convective and conductive walls. The ‘overall Heat Transfer Coefficient’ is
expressed in terms of thermal resistances of each fluid stream. The summation of individual
resistances is the total thermal resistance and its inverse is the overall heat transfer coefficient, U.

Where, U = overall heat transfer coefficient based on outside area of tube all

A = area of tube wall

h = convective heat transfer coefficien

Rf = thermal resistance due to fouling

Rw= thermal resistance due to wall conduction and suffixes ‘I’ and ‘O’ refer to the
inner and outer tubes, respectively.
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Due to existence of the secondary flow, the heat transfer rates (& the fluid pressure
drop) are greater in the case of a curved tube than in a corresponding straight tube at the same
flow rate and the same temperature and same boundary conditions.

1.4 Advantages & Disadvantages:

1.4.1 Advantages of coils:

1) Coils give better heat transfer performance, since they have lower wall resistance & higher
process side coefficient.

2) The whole surface area of the curved pipe is exposed to the moving fluid, which eliminates
the dead-zones that are a common drawback in the shell and tube type heat exchanger.

3) A coil can provide a large surface area in a relatively small reactor volume.

4) The heat exchanger’s spring-like coil eliminates thermal expansion and thermal shock
problems, which helps in high pressure operations.

5) Fouling is comparatively less in helical coil type than shell and tube type because of greater
turbulence created inside the curved pipes.

1.4.2 Disadvantages of coils:

1) For highly reactive fluids or highly corrosive fluid coils cannot be used, instead jackets are
used.

2) Cleaning of vessels with coils is more difficult than the cleaning of shells and jackets.

3) Coils play a major role in selection of agitation system. Densely packed coils can create
unmixed regions by interfering with fluid flow.

4) The design of the helical tube in tube type heat exchanger is also a bit complex and
challenging.
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1.5 Applications:
Use of helical coils for heat transfer applications:
1) Used in hydro carbon processing, recovery of CO2, cooling of liquid hydrocarbons, also used in
polymer industries for cooling purposes.
2) Helical coils are used for transferring heat in chemical reactors because the heat transfer
coefficients are greater in helical coils as compared to other configurations. This is especially
important when chemical reactions have high heats of reaction are carried out and the heat
consumed has to be transferred rapidly to maintain the temperature of the reaction. They are used
widely in petroleum industries for different applications.
3) Because of the compact configuration of helical coils, they can be readily used in heat transfer
application with space limitations, for example, marine cooling systems, central cooling, cooling of
lubrication oil, steam generations in marine and industrial applications.
4) The helical coiled heat exchangers are used widely in food and beverage industries, like in food
processing and pre-heating, pasteurization of liquid food items, and for storing them at desired
temperatures.
5) Helical coil heat exchangers are often used as condensers in used in HVACs due to their greater
heat transfer rate and compact structure.
6) Helical coiled tubes have been and are used extensively in cryogenic industry for the liquefaction
of gases.

1.6 Aim of the Present Work:

The design of a helical coil tube in tube heat exchanger has been facing problems because
of the lack of experimental data available regarding the behavior of the fluid in helical coils and
also in case of heat transfer data, which is not the case in Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger. So to the
best of our effort, numerical analysis was carried out to determine the heat transfer characteristics
for a double-pipe helical heat exchanger by varying the different parameters like different
temperatures and diameters of pipe and coil and also to determine the fluid flow pattern in helical
coiled heat exchanger. The objective of the project is to obtain a better and more quantitative
insight into the heat transfer process that occurs when a fluid flows in a helically coiled tube. The
study also covered the different types of fluid flow range extending from laminar flow through
transition to turbulent flow. The materials for the
study were decided and fluid taken was water and the material for the pipe was taken to be copper
for its better conducting properties.

1.7 Introduction to CFD:

Computational Fluid Dynamics, abbreviated as CFD, uses different numerical methods and
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a number of computerized algorithms in order to solve and analyze problems

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that involve the flow of fluids. The calculations required simulating the interaction of fluids with
surfaces defined by boundary conditions, and initial conditions are done by the ANSYS Fluent
vR21. The Navier-Stokes equations form the basis of all CFD problems. Two equation models are
used for the simulations, and different models are discussed below.

The continuity equation, energy equation and the Navier-Stokes momentum equation
govern the flow of the fluid in the curve tubes

Continuity Equation gives the conservation of mass and is given by

The momentum balance, ( Navier -Stokes equations) follows Newton’s 2 nd law. The
two forces acting on the finite element are the body and the surface forces. In CFD programs,
the momentum equation is given as

The governing energy equation is:

Turbulence is created because of the unstable nature of the fluid flow. The flow
becomes turbulent for higher Reynolds number. In this model the k-ε (turbulent kinetics
energy “k” and the turbulent dissipation “ε”) model is used.
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The physical interpretation of the ε equation is,

1. Accumulation of ε

2. Convection of ε by the mean velocity

3. Production of ε

4. Dissipation of ε

5. Diffusion of ε

The time constant for turbulence is calculated from the turbulent kinetic energy and
dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy.

1.8 Organization of Thesis:

The entire thesis is divided into 4 chapters:

First Chapter is all about the introduction about the project. It consists of the pre-ideas
related to the project. It includes the objective and the work division of the thesis.

Second Chapter consists of the literature survey done during the project work. It includes
the briefs of the important references from journals and papers that were referred in course of the
project.

Third Chapter tells the reader about the fundamentals of the CFD analysis. The process of
building geometry, meshing the geometric model, giving suitable cell-zone and boundary
conditions and solving the problem. It gives the complete description of the work. It involves the
methodology and the various steps taken to obtain the desired results.

Fourth Chapter lists all the results and contours-plots-vectors obtained after the solving of
the problem. The later parts list the conclusion, references used and the nomenclature used in the
thesis.
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Chapter 2

Literature review

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Daniel Flórez-Orrego, Walter Arias, Diego López and Héctor Velásquez have worked on
the single phase cone shaped helical coil heat exchanger. The study showed the flow and the heat
transfer in the heat exchanger. An empirical correlation was proposed from the experimental data
for the average nusselt number and a deviation of 23% was found. For the cone shaped helical coils
an appreciable inclination of the velocity vector components in the secondary flow was seen, even
though the contours of velocity were similar. The study showed that some of the deviations and
errors were due to the non-uniform flame radiation and condensed combustion products which
modified the conditions of the constant wall heat flux assumptions. The correlations for the nusselt
number values were not totally reliable. There was no proper data available for the effect of the
taper in the local nusselt number and also the effect of curvature ratio, vertical position and the
pitch of the heat exchanger. [1]
J.S. Jayakumar observed that the use of constant values for the transfer and thermal
properties of the fluid resulted in inaccurate heat transfer coefficients. Based on the CFD analysis
results a correlation was developed in order to evaluate the heat transfer coefficient of the coil. In
this study, analysis was done for both the constant wall temperature and constant wall heat flux
boundary conditions. The nusselt numbers that were obtained were found to be highest on the outer
coil and lowest in the inner side. Various numerical analyses were done so as to relate the coil
parameters to heat transfer. The coil parameters like the diameters of the pipes, the Pitch Circle
Diameters have significant effect on the heat transfer and the effect of the pitch is negligible. [2]
Timothy J. Rennie studied the heat transfer characteristics of a double pipe helical heat
exchanger for both counter and parallel flow. Both the boundary conditions of constant heat flux
and constant wall temperature were taken. The study showed that the results from the simulations
were within the range of the pre-obtained results. For dean numbers ranging from 38 to 350 the
overall heat transfer coefficients were determined. The results showed that the overall heat transfer
coefficients varied directly with the inner dean number but the fluid flow conditions in the outer
pipe had a major contribution on the overall heat transfer coefficient. The study showed that during
the design of a double pipe helical heat exchanger the design of the outré pipe should get the
highest priority in order to get a higher overall heat transfer coefficient. [3]
J.S. Jayakumar, S.M. Mahajani, J.C. Mandal, Rohidas Bhoi studied the constant thermal
and transport properties of the heat transfer medium and their effect on the prediction of heat
transfer coefficients. Arbitrary boundary conditions were not applicable for the determination of
heat transfer for a fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger. An experimental setup was
made for studying the heat transfer and also CFD was used for the simulation of the heat transfer.
The CFD simulation results were reasonably well within the range of the experimental results.
Based on both the experimental and simulation results a correlation was
established for the inner heat transfer coefficient. [4]
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Usman Ur Rehman studied the heat transfer and flow distribution in a shell and tube heat
exchanger and compared them with the experimental results. The model showed an average error of
around 20% in the heat transfer and the pressure difference. The study showed that the symmetry of
the plane assumption worked well for the length of the heat exchanger but not in the outlet and inlet
regions. The model could be improved by using Reynolds Stress models instead of k-ε models. The
heat transfer was found to be on the lower side as there was not much interaction between the
fluids. The design could be improved by improving the cross flow regions instead of the parallel
flow. [5]
Nawras H. Mostafa, Qusay R. Al-hagag studied on the mechanical and thermal performance
of elliptical tubes used for polymer heat exchangers. The mechanical analysis showed that the
streamlined shape of the outer tube had an optimal thermal performance. A set of design curves
were generated from which a number of geometries of the tube and different materials can be easily
selected in order to meet the deformation constraints. A finite element solution was determined for
strain as a function of the material of the tube. [6]

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Chapter 3
CFD analysis

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Introduction:
The invention of high speed digital computers, combined with the development of accurate

numerical methods for solving physical problems, has revolutionized the way we study and practice

fluid dynamics and heat transfer. This approach is called Computational Fluid Dynamics or CFD in

short, and it has made it possible to analyze complex flow geometries with the same ease as that

faced while solving idealized problems using conventional methods. CFD may thus be regarded as a

zone of study combining fluid dynamics and numerical analysis. Historically, the earlier

development of CFD in the 1960s and 1970s was driven by the need of the aerospace industries.

Modern CFD, however, has applications across all disciplines – civil, mechanical, electrical,

electronics, chemical, aerospace, ocean, and biomedical engineering being a few of them. CFD

substitutes testing and experimentation, and reduces the total time of testing and designing. Fig. 4.1

gives the overview of the CFD modeling process.

CFD Programs:

The development of affordable high performance computing hardware and the availability of

user- friendly interfaces have led to the development of commercial CFD packages. Before these

CFD packages came into the ordinary use, one had to write his own code to carry out a CFD

analysis. The programs were usually different for different problems, although some part of the

code of one program could be used in another. The programs were inadequately tested and

reliability of the results was often questioned. Today, well tested commercial CFD packages not

only have made CFD analysis a routine design tool in industry, but are also helping the research

engineer in focusing on the physical system more effectively.

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Overview of Modeling Process

All established CFD software contain three elements (i) a pre-processor, (ii) the mainsolver,

and (iii) a post-processor

The Pre-Processor
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Pre-processing is the first step of CFD analysis in which the user

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(a) defines the modeling objectives,

(b) identifies the computational domain, and

(c) designs and creates the grid system

The process of CFD modeling starts with an understanding of the actual problem and

identification of the computational domain. This is followed by generations of the mesh structure,

which is the most important portion of the pre-processing activity. It is believed that more than 50%

of the time spent by a CFD analyst goes towards mesh generation. Both computation time and

accuracy of solution depend on the mesh structure. Optimal grids are generally non-uniform – finer

in areas where large variation of variables is expected and coarser in regions where relatively little

changes is expected. In order to reduce the difficulties of engineers and maximize productivity, all

the major CFD programs include provision for importing shape and geometry information from

CAD packages like AutoCAD and I-DEAS, and mesh information from other packages like

GAMBIT.

The Main Solver

The solver is the heart of CFD software. It sets up the equations which are selected according to the

options chosen by the analyst and grid points generated by the pre-processor, and solves them to

compute the flow field. The process incorporates the following tasks:

 selecting appropriate physical model,

 defining material properties,

 prescribing boundary conditions,

 providing initial solutions,

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 setting up solver controls,

 setting up convergence criteria,

 solving equation set, and

 saving results

Once the model is completely set, the solution is initialized consequently calculation starts and

intermediate results can be monitored at every time step from iteration to iteration. The progress of

the solution process get displayed on the screen in terms of the residuals, a measure of the extent to

which the governing equations are not satisfied.

The Post-processor:
The post-processor is the last part of CFD software. It helps the user to analyze the results

and get useful data. The results may be displayed as vector plots of vector quantities like velocity,

contour plots of scalar variables, for example pressure and temperature, streamlines and animation

in case of unsteady simulation. Global parameters like skin friction coefficient, lift coefficient,

Nusselt number and Colburn factor etc. may be computed through appropriate formulas. These data

from a CFD post-processor can also be exported to visualization software for better display and to

software for better graph plotting.

Various general-purpose CFD packages have been published in the past decade. Important among

them are: PHOENICS, FLUENT, STAR-CD, CFX, CFD-ACE, ANSWER, CFD++,

FLOW-3D and COMPACT. Generally all these packages are based on the finite volume method.

CFD packages have also been developed for special applications. FLOTHERM and ICEPAK for

electronics cooling, CFX-TASCFLOW and FINE/TURBO for turbo machinery and ORCA for

mixing process analysis are some examples. Most CFD software packages contain their own
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mesh generators and post processors. Some popular visualization software used with CFD packages

are TECPLOT and FIELDVIEW.

Overview of FLUENT Package

FLUENT is a state-of-the-art computer program for modeling heat transfer and fluid flow in

complex geometries. FLUENT provides complete mesh flexibility, solving one’s flow problems

with unstructured grids that can be generated about complex geometries with relative ease.

Supported grid types include 2D triangular/quadrilateral. 3D FLUENT also allows user to refine or

coarsen grid based on the flow solution.

FLUENT is written in the C computer language and makes full use of the flexibility and power

offered by the language. As a result, true dynamic memory allocation, efficient data structures, and

flexible solver control (user defined functions) are all made possible. In addition, FLUENT uses a

client/server architecture, which allows it to run separate simultaneous processes on client desktop

workstations and powerful computer servers, for efficient execution, interactive control, and

complete flexibility of machine or operating system type.

All functions necessary to compute a solution and display the results are accessible in FLUENT

through an interactive, menu-driven interface. The user interface is written in a language called

Scheme, a dialect of LISP. The advanced user can customize and enhance the interface by writing

menu macros and functions.

CFD Procedure

For numerical analysis in CFD, it requires five stages such as:

 Geometry creation

 Grid generation
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 Flow specification

 Calculation and numerical solution

 Results

Based on control volume method, 3-D analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer for the helical coiled
tube has been done on ANSYS FLUENT R21 software. All the above mentioned processes are done
using the three CFD tools which are pre-processor, solver and post-processor.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of the system starts with the construction of
desired geometry and mesh for modeling the dominion. Generally, geometry is simplified for the
CFD studies. Meshing is the discretization of the domain into small volumes where the equations are
solved by the help of iterative methods. Modeling starts with the describing of the boundary and
initial conditions for the dominion and leads to modeling of the entire system. Finally, it is followed
by the analysis of the results, discussions and conclusions.

3.1 Geometry:

Heat exchanger is built in the ANSYS workbench design module. It is a counter-flow heat
exchanger. First, the fluid flow (fluent) module from the workbench is selected. The design modeler
opens as a new window as the geometry is double clicked.

3.1.1 Sketching

Out of 3 planes, viz, XY-plane, YZ-plane and ZX-plane, the YZ-plane is selected for the first
sketch. A 4 inch line for the height of the helical structure is made. A new plane is created in reference
with the YZ-plane which is termed as plane 4. 4 new sketchers are added under the new plane, i.e.
plane 4. In sketch 2, a circle of diameter 0.545 inch at a distance of 3 inch from origin. In sketch 3, two
circles of diameters 0.545 inch and 0.625 inch are made concentric to previous circle. In sketch 4, two
circles of diameters 0.625 inch and 0.785 inch are made concentric to previous circles. In sketch 5, two
circles of diameters 0.785 inch and 0.875 inch are made concentric to previous circles.

3.1.2 Sweep

Sketch 2, 3, 4 & 5 are swept along the line made in sketch made in sketch 1 using the” add
frozen” operation to construct the 3D model with different parts. The helical sweep is of 2 turns
because the twist specification is defined in number of turns.

3.1.3 Merging

After sweep operation, it will show the model as 4 parts and 4 bodies. For merge operation, all
the 4 parts are selected using control and merged as 1 part. At the end it will show as 1 part and 4
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bodies. The 4 bodies within 1 part are named as follows:

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Table 1 Naming of various parts of the body with state type

Part number Part Of The Model State Type

1 Inner Fluid Fluid
2 Inner Pipe Solid
3 Outer Fluid Fluid
4 Outer Pipe Solid

Figure 3 Original Geometry

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Figure 4 Geometry for Meshing

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Save the project at this point and close the window. Refresh and update the project on the workbench.

3.2 Mesh:

Initially a relatively coarser mesh is generated. This mesh contains mixed cells (Tetra and
Hexahedral cells) having both triangular and quadrilateral faces at the boundaries. Care is taken to use
structured hexahedral cells as much as possible. It is meant to reduce numerical diffusion as much as
possible by structuring the mesh in a well manner, particularly near the wall region. Later on, a fine
mesh is generated. For this fine mesh, the edges and regions of high temperature and pressure gradients
are finely meshed.

3.2.1 y+ Values

y + values play a significant role in turbulence modeling for the near wall treatment. y+ is a
non-dimensional distance. It is often used to describe how coarse or fine a mesh is for a particular flow
pattern. It determines the proper size of the cells near domain walls. The turbulence model wall laws
have restrictions on the y+ value at the wall. For instance, the standard K-epsilon model requires a wall
y+ value between approximately 300 and 100. A faster flow near the wall will produce higher values of
y+, so the grid size near the wall must be reduced. y+ values for different wall treatments are given in
table 2

Table 2 y+ Values for Different Wall Treatments

Wall treatment method Recommended y + values Used y+ values at tube walls

Standard wall functions 30 < y+ < 400 y+ < 5

Non-equilibrium wall functions 30 < y+ < 100 y+ < 5

Low Reynolds number model y+ ≅ 1 y+ < 1

The mesh details view gave us the following information:

Relevance centre: fine meshing

Smoothing: high
Size: 4.033e-005m to 8.066e-005m
Pinch tolerance: 3.6297e-005m
Nodes: 586300
Elements: 53170
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Figure 5 Mesh

Figure 6 Close-up View of the Mesh

3.2.2 Named Selection:

The different surfaces of the solid are named as per required inlets and outlets for
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inner and outer fluids. The outer wall is named as insulation surface.
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Figure 7 Named Selections

Save project again at this point and close the window. Refresh and update project on
the workbench. Now open the setup. The ANSYS Fluent Launcher will open in a window.
Set dimension as 3D, option as Double Precision, processing as Serial type and hit OK. The
Fluent window will open.

3.3 Solution:

3.3.1 Problem Setup:

The mesh is checked and quality is obtained. The analysis type is changed to Pressure
Based type. The velocity formulation is changed to absolute and time to steady state. Gravity
is defined as y = -9.81 m/s2

3.3.2 Models:

Energy is set to ON position. Viscous model is selected as “k-ε model (2 equations).

Radiation model is changed to Discrete Ordinates.

3.3.3 Materials:

The create/edit option is clicked to add water-liquid and copper to the list of fluid and
solid respectively from the fluent database.

3.3.4 Cell zone conditions:

The parts are assigned as water and copper as per fluid/solid parts.
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3.3.5 Boundary Conditions:

The analysis of the model has been done under two sections.
i) Effect of curvature ratio with variable velocity i.e. mass flow rate: The velocities of working fluid
assumed at the inlet are 0.6m/s, 0.8m/s, 1m/s, 1.2m/s respectively.
ii) Effect of curvature ratio with variable inlet pressure: Four different gauge pressures are assumed at
the inlet. They are 5000 N/m2 , 10000 N/m2 , 15000 N/m2 and 20000 N/m2 .
In the work reported here, water-liquid is taken as the working fluid for the analysis. Fluid
properties are assumed to be constant with temperature. The properties of water-liquid considered for
the analysis is given in table
Table 3 Properties of Water
DESCRIPTION SYMBOL VALUE UNITS
Density ƿ 1000 kg/m^3

Dynamic Viscosity µ 0.001003 kg/ms

Specific Heat C_p 4182 J/kgK

Thermal Conductivity k 0.6 W/mK

Boundary conditions are used according to the need of the model. The inlet and outlet
conditions are defined as velocity inlet and pressure outlet. As this is a counter-flow with two tubes so
there are two inlets and two outlets. The walls are separately specified with respective boundary
conditions. No slip condition is considered for each wall. Except the tube walls each wall is set to zero
heat flux condition. The details about all boundary conditions can be seen in the table 3 as given
below.

Table 3.1 Boundary Conditions

Boundary Turbulent
Velocity Turbulent
- Condition Dissipation Temperature
Magnitude Kinetic Energy
Type Rate

Inner Inlet Velocity Inlet 0.9942 m/s 0.01 m2/s2 0.1 m2/s3 348 K

Inner Outlet Pressure Outlet - - - -

Outer Inlet Velocity Inlet 1.8842 m/s 0.01 m2/s2 0.1 m2/s3 283 K
Outer Outlet Pressure Outlet - - - -
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NUMERICAL ANALYSIS:
3.3.6 Reference Values:

The inner inlet is selected from the drop down list of “compute from”. The values are:

Area = 1 m2
Density = 998.2 kg/m3

Length = 39.37008 inch

Temperature = 348 K

Velocity = 0.9942 m/s

Viscosity = 0.001003 kg/m-s

Ratio of specific heats = 1.4

SCHEME: Second-Order Upwind Scheme

When second-order accuracy is desired, quantities at cell faces are computed using a
multidimensional linear reconstruction approach. In this approach, higher-order accuracy is
achieved at cell faces through a Taylor series expansion of the cell-centered solution about

the cell centroid. Thus when second-order upwinding is selected, the face value is
computed using the following expression:

where and are the cell-centered value and its gradient in the upstream cell, and is
the displacement vector from the upstream cell centroid to the face centroid. This

formulation requires the determination of the gradient in each cell. Finally, the

gradient is limited so that no new maxima or minima are introduced.

3.3.7 Solution Methods:

The solution methods are specified as follows:

Scheme = Simple

Gradient = Least Square Cell Based

Pressure = Standard
Momentum = Second Order Upwind
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Turbulent Kinetic Energy = Second Order Upwind

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Turbulent Dissipation Rate = Second Order Upwind

3.3.8 Solution Control and Initialization:

Under relaxation factors the parameters are

Pressure = 0.3 Pascal

Density = 1 kg/m3
Body forces = 1 kg/m2s2
Momentum = 0.7 kg-m/s

Turbulent kinetic energy = 0.8 m2/s2

Then the solution initialization method is set to Standard Initialization whereas the
reference frame is set to Relative cell zone. The inner_inlet is selected from the compute from
drop down list and the solution is initialized.

3.3.9 Measure of Convergence:

It is tried to have a nice convergence throughout the simulation and hence criteria is
made strict so as to get an accurate result. For this reason residuals are given as per the table 4
that follows.
Table 4 Residuals

Residual
Variable

x-velocity 10-6
-6
y-velocity 10

z-velocity 10-6
-6
Continuity 10

Specific dissipation energy/ dissipation

energy 10-5

Turbulent kinetic energy 10-5

-9
Energy 10
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3.3.10 Run Calculation:

The number of iteration is set to 500 and the solution is calculated and various
contours, vectors and plots are obtained.

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Chapter 4

Results and discussions

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4.1 Mass Flow Rate and Total Heat Transfer Rate:

The mass flow rate and total heat transfer rate are given in the tables below.

Table 5 Mass Flow Rate

Mass Flow Rate (kg/s)

inner inlet 0.14690745

inner outlet -0.14690745

interior-part-inner fluid 60.470463

interior-part-outer fluid -83.482896

outer inlet 0.21353984

outer outlet -0.21353761

Net 2.2285868e-06

Table 6 Total Heat Transfer Rate

Total Heat Transfer Rate (w)

inner inlet 30626.679

inner outlet -23526.716

outer inlet -13529.476

outer outlet 6429.4192

Net -0.094444952
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4.2 Contours:
The temperature, pressure and velocity distribution along the heat exchanger can be
seen through the contours.

Figure 8 Contours of Dynamic Pressure in Pascal

Figure 9 Contours of Total Pressure in Pasca

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Figure 10 Contours of Static Temperature in K

Figure 11 Contours of Turbulent Dissipation Rate (Epsilon) (m2/s3)

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Figure 12 Contours of Turbulent Kinetic Energy k (m2/s2)

Figure 13 Contours of Effective Thermal Conductivity (w/m-K)

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Figure 14 Contours of Total Surface Heat Flux (w/m 2)

Figure 15 Contours of Cell Reynolds Number

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Figure 16 Contours of Effective Prandtl Number

4.3 Vectors:

The plots give an idea of flow separation at several parts of the heat exchanger.

Figure 17 Velocity Vectors Colored by Velocity Magnitude (m/s)

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Figure 18 Close View of Velocity Vectors Colored by Velocity Magnitude (m/s)

Figure 19 Velocity Vectors Colored by Static Pressure (Pascal)

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4.4 Plots

Figure 20 Scaled Residuals

Figure 21 Wall Shear Stress Plot for Inner-wall And Outer-wall

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Figure 22 Total Pressure Plot for Inner-wall And Outer-wall

Figure 23 Surface Nusselt Number Plot for Inner-wall

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Chapter 5

CONCLUSIONS & FUTURE SCOPE

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CONCLUSION
A CFD package (ANSYS FLUENT R21) was used for the numerical study of heat transfer
characteristics of a helical coiled double pipe heat exchanger for counter flow and the results were
then compared with that of the parallel flow. The CFD results when compared with the
experimental results from different studies were well within the error limits. The study showed that
there is not much difference in the heat transfer performances of the parallel-flow configuration and
the counter-flow configuration. Nusselt number at different points along the pipe length was
determined from the numerical data. The simulation was carried out for water to water heat transfer
characteristics and different inlet temperatures were studied. Nusselt number for the pipes was
found to be varying from 340-360.

Characteristics of the fluid flow were also studied for the constant temperature and constant
wall heat flux conditions. From the velocity vector plot it was found that the fluid particles were
undergoing an oscillatory motion inside both the pipes.

From the pressure and temperature contours it was found that along the outer side of the
pipes the velocity and pressure values were higher in comparison to the inner values.

Future scope
Future works required to be carried out for further improvement of helical heat exchangers are:
 CFD analysis and optimization of the curvature ratio using Dean number and Colburn factor for
boundary conditions of constant wall temperature and constant wall heat flux for both laminar and
turbulent flow.
 To analyze the results and optimize the heat transfer rate with varying the pitch of the helical coil.
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Chapter 6

REFERENCES

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1. Experimental and CFD study of a single phase cone-shaped helical coiled heat exchanger: an
empirical correlation. By Daniel Flórez-Orrego, ECOS June 26-29, 2012.

2. Helically Coiled Heat Exchangers by [Link].

3. Numerical And Experimental Studies of a Double pipe Helical Heat Exchanger by Timothy
John Rennie, Dept. of Bio-resource Engg. McGill University, Montreal August 2004.

4. Experimental and CFD estimation of heat transfer in helically coiled heat exchangers by J.S.
Jayakumar, S.M. Mahajani, J.C. Mandal, P.K. Vijayan, and Rohidas Bhoi, 2008, Chemical
Engg Research and Design 221-232.

5. Heat Transfer Optimization of Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger through CFD Studies by

Usman Ur Rehman, 2011, Chalmers University of Technology.

6. Structural and Thermal Analysis of Heat Exchanger with Tubes of Elliptical Shape by Nawras
H. Mostafa Qusay R. Al-Hagag, IASJ, 2012,Vol-8 Issue-3.

7. Numerical analysis of forced convection heat transfer through helical channels Dr. K. E. Reby
Roy, IJEST, July-2012 vol-4.

8. Minton P.E., Designing Spiral Tube Heat Exchangers, Chemical Engineering, May 1970, p.
145.

9. Noble, M.A., Kamlani, J.S., and McKetta, J.J., Heat Transfer in Spiral Coils, Petroleum
Engineer, April 1952, p. 723.

10. Heat Transfer Analysis of Helical Coil Heat Exchanger with Circular and Square Coiled
Pattern by Ashok B. Korane, P.S. Purandare, K.V. Mali, IJESR, June 2012, vol-2, issue-6.

11. Kalb, C.E. and Seader, J.D. Heat and Mass transfer phenomena for viscous flow in curved
circular tubes. Int J Heat Mass Transf, 15 (1972): 801–817.

12. Darvid, A.N., Smith, K.A., Merril, E.W. and Brain, P.L.T, 1971, Effect of secondary fluid
motion on laminar flow heat transfer in helically coiled tubes. AICHE Journal, 17,

13. 1142–1222.

14. K.S. Bharuka, D.Y. Kasture, 1984, Flow through a helically coiled annulus,

Applied
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15. Science Research, 41, 55–67.

16. Timothy John Rennie, 2004, Numerical And Experimental Studies of a Double pipe

17. Helical Heat Exchanger, Dept. of Bio-resource Engg. McGill University, Montreal.

18. Vimal Kumar, Supreet Saini, Manish Sharma, K.D.P. Nigam, 2006, Pressure drop and heat
transfer study in tube-in-tube helical heat exchanger , Chemical Engineering Science, 61,
4403 – 4416.

19. Rennie, T.J. and Raghavan, V.G.S., 2006, Numerical studies of a doublepipe helical
heat exchanger. Appl Thermal Eng, 26, 1266–1273.

20. Vimal Kumar, Burhanuddin Faizee, Monisha Mridha, K.D.P. Nigam, 2007, Numerical studies
of a tube-in-tube helically coiled heat exchanger, Chemical Engineering and Processing, 47,
2287–2295.

21. J.S. Jayakumar, S.M. Mahajani, J.C. Mandal, P.K. Vijayan, and Rohidas Bhoi, 2008,
Experimental and CFD estimation of heat transfer in helically coiled heat exchangers

22. , Chemical Engg Research and Design, 221-232.

23. Rahul Kharat, Nitin Bhardwaj, R.S. Jha, 2009, Development of heat transfer
coefficient correlation for concentric helical coil heat exchanger, International
Journal of Thermal Sciences, 48, 2300–2308.

24. N. Ghorbani a, H. Taherian b, M. Gorji c, H. Mirgolbabaei d, 2010, Experimental

study of mixed convection heat transfer in vertical helically coiled tube heat exchangers
, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 34, 900–905.

25. J. S. Jayakumar, Helically Coiled Heat Exchangers, Heat Exchangers – Basics Design
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