CFD analysis of single phase flows inside vertically and horizontally oriented helically coiled tubes

Abstract

It has been well established from previous experimental and numerical work that heat and mass transfer in a helical pipe is higher than that in a corresponding straight pipe.The detailed description of fluid flow and heat transfer inside helical coil is not available from the present literature. This paper clearly shows the variation of average Nusselt number and friction factor with the geometric variables of a vertically and horizontally oriented helical coil for constant wall temperature boundary condition .A comparison of heat transfer and head loss in helical pipe is also discussed for vertical and horizontal orientation. The effect of inlet velocity on heat transfer coefficient and average nusselt number is also described. CFD simulations are carried out for vertically and horizontally oriented helical coils by varying different geometric parameters such as (i) pitch circle diameter, (ii) helical tube pitch and (iii) pipe diameter and their influence on heat transfer and fluid flow has been analysied. After investigate the influence of these parameters, the correlations for average nusselt number and friction factor are developed.