Examination of the effectiveness of different angle turbulators with vertical fins placed in the pipe on heat exchange

Heat exchangers used in industrial plants are devices designed to transfer heat between fluids at different temperatures without mixing them. The turbulators employed in heat exchangers enhance heat transfer efficiency by generating turbulence within the exchanger. The primary goal in heat exchangers is to achieve maximum heat removal capacity, which can be accomplished by optimizing heat transfer. The common objective of both active and passive methods used to increase heat transfer is to raise the heat transfer coefficient. The most effective way to achieve this is by increasing turbulence, as heat transfer in turbulent flow is higher compared to laminar flow. In this study, one of the methods to enhance heat transfer—installing turbulators inside the pipe—has been utilized. The turbulators were designed using SolidWorks software with vertical fins at different angles (20°, 25°, 30°, and 35°). These turbulators were arranged in sequences of 3, 6, and 9 rows inside the pipe, and their effects on heat transfer, system efficiency, and pressure difference between the air inlet and outlet under both steady and counter-flow conditions were experimentally investigated. During the experiments, temperature and pressure data were measured using an ATmega2560 microcontroller and transferred to a computer via serial communication. On the computer side, these data were recorded through a user interface program developed in the C# programming language. Measurements showed that the highest pressure difference was obtained in the system using a conical turbulator with 9 rows and 35° angled fins. The lowest pressure difference was observed in the system employing turbulators with 3 rows and 35° angled fins.