Heat transfer augmentation in a heat exchanger tube using a baffle

Heat transfer enhancement in a heat exchanger tube by installing a baffle is reported. The effect of baffle size and orientation on the heat transfer enhancement was studied in detail. Three different baffle arrangements were considered. The results show that for the vertical baffle, an increase in the baffle height causes a substantial increase in the Nusselt number but the pressure loss is also very significant. For the inclined baffles, the results show that the Nusselt number enhancement is almost independent of the baffle inclination angle, with the maximum and average Nusselt number 120% and 70% higher than that for the case of no baffle, respectively. For a given baffle geometry, the Nusselt number enhancement is increased by more than a factor of two as the Reynolds number decreased from 20,000 to 5000. Simulations were conducted by introducing another baffle to enhance heat transfer. The results show that the average Nusselt number for the two baffles case is 20% higher than the one baffle case and 82% higher than the no baffle case. The above results suggest that a significant heat transfer enhancement in a heat exchanger tube can be achieved by introducing a baffle inclined towards the downstream side, with the minimum pressure loss.