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Experimental and numerical investigation on shell-and-tube exhaust gas recirculation cooler with different tube bundles

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Abstract

The heat transfer characteristics of shell-and-tube exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers with different tube bundles were studied by experiment and numerical simulation. The overall heat transfer coefficient and shell-side pressure drop were determined. The influences of tube spacing, baffle form, baffle arrangement and number on the overall heat transfer coefficient and shell-side pressure drop were investigated. The maximum differences between the numerical and experimental results are approximately 4.1% for overall heat transfer coefficient and 3.3% for shell-side pressure drop, respectively. The results indicate that the overall heat transfer coefficient of EGR cooler with wave fin arrays internally finned tubes is 1.3~1.7 times than that of EGR cooler with longitudinal plate-rectangle internally finned tubes. And the comprehensive heat performance is more reasonable when tube spacing and baffle number are equal to 12 mm and 9, respectively. It is confirmed that the trisection ellipse helical baffle is superior to the segmental baffle, but the influence of improving overall thermal performance by setting baffles is limited for small EGR cooler.

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Abbreviations

A :

Heat transfer area of all the tubes (m2)

B S :

Segmental baffle spacing (m)

B T :

Helix pitch of TEHB (m)

C1,C2 :

Constants in realizable k-ε model

d h :

Hydraulic diameter of tube (m)

d i :

Inner diameter of tube (m)

d ins :

Inscribed circle diameter of tube (m)

d o :

Outer diameter of tube (m)

D B :

Diameter of tube bundle (m)

D Ei :

Inner diameter of shell side (m)

f :

Friction factor

G k :

Production of turbulent kinetic energy

h :

Heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2·K))

H M :

Arrays height (m)

k :

Turbulent kinetic energy (m2/s2)

K :

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2·K))

K 0 :

Overall heat transfer coefficient when tube spacing is 11.5 mm without baffles (W/(m2·K))

L :

Length of tube (m)

L E :

Length of shell side (m)

L f :

Length of fin (m)

L max :

Long edge of TEHB (m)

L M :

Arrays length (m)

M :

Mass flow rate (kg/h)

n :

Total number of heat exchange tubes

N B :

Quantity of TEHB

N f :

Wave number

p :

Pressure (Pa)

P M :

Arrays spacing (m)

Pr:

Prandtl number

Q :

Heat transfer rates (W)

S φ :

Generalized source term

S p :

Tube spacing (m)

S TE :

Cross sectional area of crossflow zone for TEHB (m2)

S S :

Cross sectional area of crossflow zone for SB (m2)

T :

Temperature (K)

u,v,w :

Velocity component (m/s)

U :

Velocity vector

V E :

Effective volume (m3)

V E0 :

Effective volume when tube spacing is 11.5 mm without baffle (m3)

Vs :

Shell-side volume flow rate (m3/h)

W M :

Arrays width (m)

x,y,z :

Cartesian coordinates

α :

Tilt angle of TEHB (deg)

β :

Helix angle of TEHB (rad)

ΔP :

Pressure drop (Pa)

ΔPs0 :

Shell-side pressure drop when tube spacing is 11.5 mm without baffles (Pa)

ΔTm :

Logarithmic mean temperature difference (K)

δ :

Thickness of tube wall (m)

δ f :

Thickness of fin (m)

ε :

Dissipation rate of turbulence energy (m3/s2)

η :

fin efficiency

θ :

Wave angle (rad)

λ :

Thermal conductivity (W/(m∙K))

μ :

Dynamic viscosity of fluid (kg/(m·s))

μ t :

Turbulent dynamic viscosity (kg/(m·s))

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

σk, σT, σε :

Prandtl number for k, T, ε

Г φ :

Generalized diffusion coefficient

φ :

Generalized variable

ψ :

Dimensionless parameter

ω :

Angular velocity (rad/s)

s:

Shell side

t:

Tube side

w:

Wall

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51606014), Jiangsu Province Natural Science Foundation of China (No. BK20160281) and Jiangsu Province University Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 16KJB470001). On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest. 2018 Jiangsu postgraduate research and practical innovation plan (SJCX18_0970).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Process Equipment, School of Mechanical Engineering, Changzhou University, No. 1 Ge Hu Road, Changzhou, 213164, People’s Republic of China

    Lin Liu, Tong Shen, Lin Zhang, Suolong Zhang, Weigang Xu, Shi Bo, Songzheng Qu & Xiaomeng Ni

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Process Enhancement and New Energy Equipment Technology, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 Pu Zhu South Road, Nanjing, 211816, People’s Republic of China

    Hao Peng

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  1. Lin Liu
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Liu, L., Shen, T., Zhang, L. et al. Experimental and numerical investigation on shell-and-tube exhaust gas recirculation cooler with different tube bundles. Heat Mass Transfer 56, 601–615 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-019-02721-y

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