Numerical Analysis for Longitudinal Pitch Effect on Tube Bank Heat Transfer

In this study, a longitudinal pitch effect on in-line tube bank heat transfer has been analyzed numerically. To verify the accuracy of the solver model and boundary conditions, global Nusselt number(Nu) and pressure drop across the 2 row tube bank are compared with the existing experimental correlations under 500 ~ 2,000 Reynolds number(Re) range. By changing transverse pitch( ST ) or longitudinal pitch( SL ) separately in tube bank, we're trying to identify the each effect on heat transfer. We found that the effect of transverse pitch can be accounted for Reynolds number evaluated with maximum velocity( Vₘₐₓ ) at the smallest flow area similar to most existing correlations. Variation of the longitudinal pitch( SL ) has a greater impact on the heat transfer compared to the transverse pitch( ST ). Overall Nusselt number increases with larger longitudinal pitch( SL ), however individual Nusselt number of the tube row has significant difference after the first row.