Numerical investigation of the heat transfer and flow characteristics of turbulators placed in tubes

In this study, a plate type turbulator placed in a circular tube and numerical analysis of the turbulators in different steps and different fin angles on the plate were investigated numerically. Heat transfer performance, pressure losses and friction characteristics were investigated for Reynolds number 4000-30000 for each type turbulator. The basic conservation equations are solved in the steady state in 3D and turbulent flow conditions by using the ANSYS fluent program which analyzes based on the finite volume method. Numerical analysis results were obtained in the study conducted according to the different flow rate of air. As a result of the analysis, temperature contours, velocity distributions, pressure distributions and velocity vector were formed in the tube. Using a turbulator, heat transfer enhancement of up to 208% compared to smooth tube was achieved.