A numerical study of forced convection in a new trapezoidal tube bank arrangement

This work presents a numerical study addressing the hydrodynamic and thermal behaviour of a new trapezoidal tube bank arrangement composed of nine circular cylinders subjected to forced convection. The pressure drop and Nusselt numbers are evaluated aiming to assess the influences of the following parameters: the new trapezoidal factor, the longitudinal and transverse pitches and the free stream velocity (Reynolds number). The second law analysis was also performed by computing the entropy production as function of the trapezoidal factor. The validation of the results obtained with the present methodology was conducted by comparing against empirical correlations available in the literature. The main results indicate that entropy production in the tube bank is very sensitive to the trapezoidal factor. Finally, all results for the global Nusselt number for the new geometry were condensed in an empirical correlation for practical applications with good accuracy (maximum error around ± 1.15%).