Heat Transfer Enhancement in Double Pipe Systems

Double pipe heat exchangers comprise a central tube surrounded by an annular passage and are prized for simplicity and adaptability in industries ranging from power generation to refrigeration. Improving thermal performance often involves disrupting boundary layers to increase fluid mixing and surface area. Passive methods employ internal inserts such as twisted tapes, helical fins or extended surfaces to induce secondary flows, while active methods exploit mechanisms like pulsating flow or tube rotation. Nanofluids offer enhanced conductivity by suspending nanoparticles in the working fluid, though at the cost of greater pressure losses. Designs such as diamond-shaped fins, perforated rings and winglet tapes have demonstrated significant uplift in Nusselt number, often balanced against friction factor penalties. Numerical modelling and experimental validation remain central to the optimisation of geometry, material and flow parameters. The resulting gains in energy efficiency and compactness underpin the global drive towards low-carbon thermal systems and resource conservation.

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Heat Transfer Enhancement in Double Pipe Systems publication trend

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Technical terms

Annulus: The concentric gap between inner and outer pipes through which one of the fluids flows.

Reynolds number (Re): Dimensionless quantity indicating the ratio of inertial to viscous forces and defining flow regime.

Nusselt number (Nu): Dimensionless measure of convective heat transfer relative to conduction across a fluid layer.

Friction factor (f): Dimensionless parameter expressing pressure drop due to flow resistance.

Nanofluids: Colloidal suspensions of nanoparticles in base fluids to elevate thermal conductivity.

Pulsating flow: Time-varying flow rate imposed to disrupt thermal boundary layers and augment mixing.

References

1. Heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of the passive method in double tube heat exchangers: A critical review. International Journal of Thermofluids (2023).
2. Diamond-Shaped Extended Fins for Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger: An Innovative Design. Applied Sciences (2021).
3. Numerical Modelling and Experimental Validation of Novel Para Winglet Tape for Heat Transfer Enhancement. Mathematics (2022).
4. An experimental study exploring heat transfer enhancement in tube in tube heat exchanger with pulsating flow. Applied Thermal Engineering (2024).
5. Non-Newtonian Convective Heat Transfer in Annuli: Numerical Investigation on the Effects of Staggered Helical Fins. Fluids (2024).
6. Improvement of tube heat exchanger performance with perforated ring inserts, tube rotation and using nanofluids. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2024).