Heat Transfer Enhancement Using Al2O3-MWCNT Hybrid-Nanofluid inside a Tube/Shell Heat Exchanger with Different Tube Shapes

The high demand for compact heat exchangers has led researchers to develop high-quality and energy-efficient heat exchangers at a lower cost than conventional ones. To address this requirement, the present study focuses on improvements to the tube/shell heat exchanger to maximize the efficiency either by altering the tube’s geometrical shape and/or by adding nanoparticles in its heat transfer fluid. Water-based Al2O3-MWCNT hybrid nanofluid is utilized here as a heat transfer fluid. The fluid flows at a high temperature and constant velocity, and the tubes are maintained at a low temperature with various shapes of the tube. The involved transport equations are solved numerically by the finite-element-based computing tool. The results are presented using the streamlines, isotherms, entropy generation contours, and Nusselt number profiles for various nanoparticles volume fraction 0.01 ≤ φ ≤ 0.04 and Reynolds numbers 2400 ≤ Re ≤ 2700 for the different shaped tubes of the heat exchanger. The results indicate that the heat exchange rate is a growing function of the increasing nanoparticle concentration and velocity of the heat transfer fluid. The diamond-shaped tubes show a better geometric shape for obtaining the superior heat transfer of the heat exchanger. Heat transfer is further enhanced by using the hybrid nanofluid, and the enhancement goes up to 103.07% with a particle concentration of 2%. The corresponding entropy generation is also minimal with the diamond-shaped tubes. The outcome of the study is very significant in the industrial field and can solve many heat transfer problems.