ABSTRACT Enhancing heat transfer remains a major challenge in heat‐exchanger systems. To address this limitation, this study numerically investigates a novel ramp‐shaped turbulator, introduced and analyzed here for the first time. The turbulator is designed to simultaneously generate strong radial and swirling flows within the tube, thereby substantially improving heat transfer and overall hydrothermal performance. Both solid and perforated configurations are examined over Reynolds numbers of 2500–9000, and the effects of key geometric parameters—including bending distance (2–12 mm), perforation diameter (0–4 mm), and hole height (3–8 mm)—on heat transfer, pressure loss, and the thermal enhancement factor (TEF) are systematically evaluated. Thermally, the solid turbulator exhibits superior performance, with an 8‐mm bending distance yielding a 2.54‐fold increase in the Nusselt number and a 5.3‐fold rise in the friction factor compared with a plain tube. However, from a hydrothermal perspective based on TEF, the perforated configuration becomes more favorable. The perforated ramp achieves a maximum TEF of 1.4 at an 8‐mm bending distance, 2 mm perforation diameter, and 3 mm hole height. In addition, generalized correlations are developed to predict the influence of the geometric parameters, offering a practical framework for designing and optimizing next‐generation high‐performance heat exchangers.
Abdullah et al. (Fri,) studied this question.