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Experimental study and optimization of friction factor and heat transfer in the fin and tube heat exchanger using nanofluid

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Abstract

In the present research, friction factor and Nusselt number in tube side of a fin-and-tube heat exchanger are experimentally determined. Two kinds of nanofluids including Al2O3 and CuO water-based are used and experimental results are performed for three nanoparticle volumetric concentrations (PVC) for the Reynolds number between 3000 and 15,000. The results show that both friction factor and Nusselt number enhance in the case of nanofluid as working fluid in comparison to the water and this increment is higher in the CuO nanofluid. In the Al2O3 nanofluid at Re = 3000, 1.92%, 15.08% and 22.46% enhancements in the Nusselt number are observed compared with the base fluid for PVC = 0.025, 0.050 and 0.075, respectively. The mentioned improvements for CuO nanofluid are obtained 10.89%, 35.50% and 46.11%, respectively. In addition, at Re = 3000, 15.27%, 9.64% and 13.80% increases in friction factor are observed for Al2O3 nanofluid compared with base fluid, respectively, for PVC = 0.025, 0.050 and 0.075. The mentioned increases for CuO nanofluid are obtained 7.71%, 13.97% and 19.59%, respectively. Then, correlations for friction factor and Nusselt number are derived with adequate accuracy. Finally, the optimization of this kind of heat exchanger is performed in presence of nanoparticles and their results are presented.

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Abbreviations

A tot :

Total heat transfer surface \(({\text{m}}^{2} )\)

C min :

Minimum of Ch and Cc \(({\text{W}}/{\text{K}})\)

C max :

Maximum of Ch and Cc \(({\text{W}}/{\text{K}})\)

C * :

Heat capacity rate ratio \(( - )\)

\(c_{p}\) :

Specific heat capacity (kJ/kg K)

d np :

Average size of nanoparticle \(({\text{nm}})\)

D h :

Hydraulic diameter \(({\text{m}})\)

f :

Friction factor \(( - )\)

G :

Mass flux \(({\text{kg}}/{\text{m}}^{2} {\text{s}})\)

h :

Convection heat transfer coefficient \(({\text{W}}/{\text{m}}^{2} {\text{K}})\)

j :

Colburn factor \(( - )\)

k f :

Fluid thermal conductivity \(({\text{W}}/{\text{m}}^{2} {\text{K}})\)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

NTU:

Number of transfer units \(( - )\)

Nu:

Nusselt number \(( - )\)

Pr:

Prandtl number \(( - )\)

PVC:

Particle volumetric concentration (%)

Q :

Rate of heat transfer (kW)

Q max :

Maximum rate of heat transfer (kW)

Re :

Reynolds number \(( - )\)

St:

Stanton number \(( - )\)

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient \(({\text{W}}/{\text{m}}^{2} {\text{K}})\)

V :

Heat exchanger volume (\({\text{m}}^{3}\))

v :

Fluid velocity (m/s)

\(\Delta P\) :

Pressure drop \(({\text{kPa}})\)

\(\varepsilon\) :

Effectiveness \(( - )\)

\(\eta_{o}\) :

Fin overall efficiency \(( - )\)

\(\mu\) :

Viscosity (Pa s)

\(\rho\) :

Density (\({\text{kg}}/{\text{m}}^{3}\))

\(\phi\) :

Particle volumetric concentration (%)

bf:

Fluid

fin:

Fin side

nf:

Nanofluid

np:

Nanoparticle

o:

Outside

tube:

Tube side

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Iran National Science Foundation: INSF with proposal no. 95838948. We would like to acknowledge with much appreciation the INSF for supporting this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran

    Hassan Hajabdollahi & Mohammad Shafiey Dehaj

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  1. Hassan Hajabdollahi
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  2. Mohammad Shafiey Dehaj
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Correspondence to Mohammad Shafiey Dehaj.

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Hajabdollahi, H., Shafiey Dehaj, M. Experimental study and optimization of friction factor and heat transfer in the fin and tube heat exchanger using nanofluid. Appl Nanosci 11, 657–668 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-020-01616-3

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