Experimental determination of heat transfer and friction in helically-finned tubes

Heat transfer coefficients and friction factors were determined experimentally for eight helically-finned tubes and one smooth tube using liquid water at Reynolds numbers ranging from 12,000 to 60,000. The helically-finned tubes tested in this investigation have helix angles between 25° and 48°, number of fin starts between 10 and 45, and fin height-to-diameter ratios between 0.0199 and 0.0327. An uncertainty analysis was completed and plain-tube results were compared to the Blasius and Dittus–Boelter equations with satisfactory agreement. Power-law correlations for Fanning friction and Colburn j-factors were developed using a least-squares regression. The performance of the correlations was evaluated with data of other researchers with average prediction errors between 30% and 40%.