DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF COUNTER FLOW HEAT EXCHANGER USING HELICAL FLOW DUCTS

Abstract

 In this paper, computational analysis is performed on a modern heat exchanger which is designed in such a way that it offers a maximum surface area for a given volume with counter flow arrangement between helical ducts. This study focuses on heat transfer and flow characteristic analysis to enhance the performance of heat exchanger. The effect of pitch and helix angle on overall heat transfer is also studied to determine its optimum design parameters. The enhancement in heat transfer is compared for different values of Reynolds Number. Thermal performance and pressure drop are the major factors considered for the evaluation of heat exchangers. Hence, the variation of friction factor and pressure drop across the heat exchanger is also studied. The temperature distribution and flow analysis are visualized using temperature contours. The entire analysis is carried out in ANSYS using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).