Investigation of the effect of using tube inserts for the intensification of heat transfer

In this work, heat transfer in channels containing inserts of different shapes was investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling techniques taking a gaslight water heater as an example. Three types of devices inserted in the water heater tube (flow swirlers) were investigated: star-shaped, coiled wire, and classic ones in the form of twisted tapes. In the present study, the RNG k-ɛ turbulence model is used to model the turbulent flow regime. This numerical simulation has been performed over a Reynolds number range of 5800–18500. In the studied range of Reynolds number the maximum thermal performance factor was obtained by the starry inserts with A star/A inlet = 0.50. The results have exposed that also the use of all tube inserts leads to a considerable increase in heat transfer and pressure drop over the smooth tube. In addition, the results revealed that both heat transfer rate and friction factor in the tube equipped with starry insert were significantly higher than those in the tube fitted with the coiled wire inserts and classic twisted tape.