Heat transfer and flow resistance characteristics inside an innovative vortex enhanced tube

One innovative enhanced heat transfer tube is designed by the aid of the vortex structure on the wall surface. 3D numerical simulation is carried out to investigate and highlight the heat transfer and flow characteristics inside the vortex tube by comparing with the dimple tube and the smooth tube with the same tube diameter. The numerical geometrical models of the vortex tube and the dimple tube are constructed by the different approaches. The vortex-tube model is established for the first time based on the structural mechanics to represent the plastic deformation on the wall, and the dimple tube is constructed by the usually-employed CAD (Computer Aided Design) method. The results show that the outward protrusion and the smooth wall edge of the vortex tube can further enhance significantly the heat transfer, homogenize the flow field while increase relatively lowly the flow resistance. Compared to the dimple tube, the vortex tube provides the more superior flow and heat transfer behaviors, which are characterized by the more effective heat transfer enhancement, much smaller flow resistance and larger overall thermo-hydraulic performance factor.