CFD analysis of single-phase flows inside helically coiled tubes

It has been well established that heat transfer in a helical coil is higher than that in a corresponding straight pipe. However, the detailed characteristics of fluid flow and heat transfer inside helical coil is not available from the present literature. This paper brings out clearly the variation of local Nusselt number along the length and circumference at the wall of a helical pipe. Movement of fluid particles in a helical pipe has been traced. CFD simulations are carried out for vertically oriented helical coils by varying coil parameters such as (i) pitch circle diameter, (ii) tube pitch and (iii) pipe diameter and their influence on heat transfer has been studied. After establishing influence of these parameters, correlations for prediction of Nusselt number has been developed. A correlation to predict the local values of Nusselt number as a function of angular location of the point is also presented.