Published 8 issues per year
ISSN Print: 1065-5131
ISSN Online: 1563-5074
Indexed in
STUDY AND OPTIMIZATION OF PARAMETERS THAT INFLUENCE THERMOHYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF FLOW IN A DUCT WITH TWISTED TAPE INSERT IN CONJUNCTION WITH DIMPLES OVER ITS SURFACE
ABSTRACT
Transport of energy across fluids is facilitated within a device called a heat exchanger. The ability to exchange thermal energy within this device is further enhanced by applying various passive and active techniques. In this work, a group of passive techniques were merged to improve the performance of a heat exchanger. A square duct is considered to represent the tube of a heat exchanger as water flows inside the duct. A spiral insert is placed within a square duct and two opposite walls of the duct are dented to impinge hemispherical dimples. The effect of a spiral insert and dimples on heat exchanger performance was observed in ANSYS at various configurations of dimples by keeping the spiral insert unaltered. This study is further extended to analyze and predict the best dimple configuration using optimization techniques such as genetic algorithms (GAs) and microgenetic algorithms (μGAs). Using a GA, the best thermohydraulic performance is observed when spacing between the dimples is 7.5 mm, 5.5 mm, and 7.5 mm from the edge of the duct surface. The result suggested by a μGA is also in close agreement with the result of the GA. According to the μGA, the best thermohydraulic performance is predicted at 7.4 mm, 5.6 mm, and 7.4 mm from the edge of the duct surface.