Experimental studies of Al2O3/water nanofluid in

double pipe heat exchanger with serrated twisted tape

insert
M.Raja1
Assistant Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Government College of Engineering
Salem, Tamilnadu, India
raaj.nml@gmail.com.

M.Venkatesan2
PG Scholar,
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Government College of Engineering
Salem, Tamilnadu, India
venkatesanm1972@gmail.com

Abstract Augmentation of heat transfer in heat exchanging

devices plays vital role in present day heat exchanger design.
Among the passive heat transfer method one of the efficient
technique is the insertation of turbulator. In this study, thermal
performance of double pipe heat exchanger with and without
inserting serrated twisted tape (STT) using water and Al 2O3 /
water nanofluid for the Reynolds number range of 5000 to 15000
is analysed. STT pitch and width ratio is 0.2.The results showed
that the maximum heat transfer enhancement is about 49%,on
the other hand friction factor is increased by 90% for 1%
addition of nanoparticles with STT compared to water in plain
tube.
Keywords Nanofluids; Serrated twisted tape; double pipe
heat exchanger; thermal performance.

I.

J.Vinoth kumar3
PG Scholar,
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Government College of Engineering
Salem, Tamilnadu, India
Vinothmech1809@gmail.com

used ,in which one is used to pump the cold fluid while other
is used for pumping hot fluid with an accuracy of 0.1lps.Two
By-pass valve are used to control the volume flow rate of both
fluids. Serrated twisted tape(STT) with pitch ratio and width
ratio of 0.2 is used.
Now the experimental setup is ready, the storage tank
is filled with water and nanofluid at desired volume
concentration and the reading is taken with and without STT
at different flow rates(60ml/sec to 180ml/sec).Three different
volume concentration of nanofluid 0.25%,0.5% and 1% are
used for conducting experiment. The experimental layout of
the system is given in the figure 1.

INTRODUCTION

Application of twisted tape in heat exchanger

increases the heat transfer rate by creating turbulence in flow
region which tends to increase the pressure drop. In order to
reduce the pressure drop without affecting the increase in heat
transfer rate, we use some modification in twisted tape.
Among them we select serrated twisted tape.
Addition of small amount of nano sized particle in
conventional base fluids gives much enhanced thermo
physical properties. In our experiment 0.25%,0.5% and 1% of
Al2O3 / water nanofluids are employed.
II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND PROCEDURE
The test section of double pipe heat exchanger is
1.5m. The inner tube is made up of copper material with inner
and outer diameter of 33 mm and 38 mm. The outer tube is
made up of mild steel with inner and outer diameter of 71 mm
and 76 mm. The outer pipe is insulated by wounding the
asbestos rope to minimize heat loss.
Four digital thermometer with an accuracy of 0.1
C is placed at inlet and outlet section of both pipes. A U-tube
manometer is attached to the both ends of inner tube with the
tube diameter of 4mm for measuring the pressure head
difference. The experimental setup consists of two pumps and
two reservoirs. A 15 liters volume of fluid and 3KW heater is
used for conducting this experiment. Two HP pump are

Figure 1.Experimental layout

Initially readings are taken using water and nanofluid

at different concentration. Later the same procedure is carried
out by insertion of turbulator in the inner tube with same
concentration fluid.

Nomenclature
A
C
D
f
h
k
L
m
Nu
Pr
Q
Re
T
v

Area, m2
Specific heat, J/kg K
Inner diameter of the tube, m
Friction factor
Heat transfer coefficient, W/m2K
Thermal conductivity, W/mK
Length of the tube, m
Mass flow rate, kg/s
Nusselt number, hD/k
Prandtl number, C/k
Heat flow, Watts
Reynolds number
Temperature, C
Velocity, m/s

Greek symbols
T
p

Temperature difference
Pressure drop
Volume concentration of nanoparticles, %
Dynamic viscosity, kg/m2s
Density, kg/m3

Specification of serrated twisted tape turbulator

Width of cut w=6mm
Depth of the cut d=6mm
Width ratio /=0.2
Depth ratio /=0.2
Length of tape L = 1500mm
Twist ratio (y/ W) = 4
Width of tape (W) = 30mm
Length of angle of twist(y) = 120mm
Angle of Twist = 180o
III. NANOFLUID PREPARATION AND ITS
PROPERTIES

Subscripts
bf
c
Exp
h
nf
o

Figure 3.Serrated twisted tape

Base fluid(water)
cold
Experimental
hot
Nanofluid
Outlet

Nanofluid is prepared by dispersing Al 2O3

nanoparticles with an average diameter of supplied (Alfa acer
Ltd). in distilled water. The dispersion process was done with
ultrasonic vibrator (Toshiba, India).The quantity of
nanoparticles required for different volume concentration is
calculated by using the following equation given below,

(1)
Nanofluid properties like density ,thermal conductivity
,specific heat capacity and viscosity has been calculated by
using the following formulae given below which are available
in existing literatures.
Density of nanofluid

(2)
Figure 2.Photograph of an experimental setup

Thermal conductivity

(10)
(3)
Specific heat capacity

(11)
Dittus - Boelter Equation is given is used to determine the
value of Nusselt number,
(4)

Viscosity

(12)
3.2 Measurement of friction factor
Experimental friction factor is evaluated from the
pressure drop measurement along the length of test section and
using the following equation

(5)
Sonication is the act of applying sound (usually
ultrasound about 30kHz) energy to agitate particles in a
sample, for various purposes. In the laboratory, it is usually
applied using an ultrasonic bath or an ultrasonic probe,
colloquially known as a sonicator. Sonication is the process of
converting an electrical signal into a physical vibration that
can be directed toward a substance. The vibration has a very
powerful effect on solutions, causing their molecules to break
apart. The primary part of a sonication device is the ultrasonic
electric generator.
3.1 Measurement of heat rate transfer coefficient

(13)
Blasius Equation given below is used to determine the
theoretical value of friction factor
(14)
IV. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP VALIDATION
Figure 4 shows the variation of Nusselt number with
Reynolds number in the plain tube. The data obtained from the
experiment has discrepancy of 11% when compared to the
values obtained from Dittus- Boelter Equation.

Rate of heat flow from hot fluid to the cold fluid is

calculated depending on the measurements of inlet and outlet
temperatures along with the mass flow rates of hot and cold
fluids using the following set of equations:
(6)
(7)

(8)
The heat loss to the surrounding from the hot fluid is
of the order of 3%.Experimental heat transfer coefficient for
nanofluid with and without insert is calculated based on the
Newtons law of cooling and the expression is given below:

(9)

Figure 4.Experimental & Theoretical Nusselt number vs Reynolds

number

Flow friction characteristics in terms of friction factor

from the experimental setup is compared with standard
correlations as shown in Figure5.It depicts ,the experimental
value deviates by 19% from the values obtained from Blasius
equation.

While for Reynolds number around 10000, heat transfer in

terms of Nusselt number enhances by 22% ,29% and 44% for
0.25%,0.5% and 1% volume concentration nanofluid
compared to that of water. At the Reynolds number around
15000, heat transfer enhancement in terms of Nusselt number
increases by 25%, 31% and 46% for 0.25%,0.5% and 1%
volume concentration nanofluid compared to that of water.
The enhancement in heat transfer is contributed due
to the properties of nanofluid in terms of high thermal
conductivity and lower specific heat compared to that of
water. Due to which they take less heat to attain a particular
temperature when compared to the base fluid. The heat
transfer enhancement in the Al2O3 nanofluid is also contributed
to particle Brownian motion and hence the heat transport
capability of Al2O3 nanoparticles will increase further. Al2O3
nanoparticles have large surface area over the coarse grains
and this large surface area of nanoparticles improves the heat
transfer rate of nanofluid.
Figure 5.Experimental & Theoretical friction factor vs Reynolds number

V.EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Nusselt number of nanofluid in a tube
Experiments are further conducted to evaluate the
heat transfer coefficient with nanofluid flowing in a tube .The
obtained results from the experiment is plotted in the Figure 6
in which Nusselt number of nanofluid at different volume
fraction is compared with water at Reynolds numbers range of
5000 to 15000 respectively.
The heat transfer enhancement in terms of Nusselt
number for 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% volume concentration of
nanofluid is of 19%, 25% and 39% compared to that of water
for
the
Reynolds
number
of
5000.

5.2 Nusselt number of nanofluid in a tube with serrated

twisted tape insert.
Further the experiments conducted to calculate heat
transfer coefficient with nanofluid flowing in a tube along
with STT inserts. The obtained results from the experiment are
plotted in the Figure 7.

Figure 7. Experimental Nusselt numbers (water with STT, 0.25% nf with

STT, 0.5% nf with STT & 1% nf with STT) vs. Reynolds number

Figure 6.Experimental Nusselt numbers (water, 0.25% nf, 0.5% nf & 1%

nf) vs. Reynolds number

The heat transfer enhancement in terms of Nusselt

number for 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% volume concentration
nanofluid is of 24%, 28% and 42% compared to that of water
for the Reynolds number of 5000.While for Reynolds number
around 10000, heat transfer in terms of Nusselt number
enhances by 26%, 32% and 47% for 0.25%,0.5% and 1%
volume concentration nanofluid compared to that of water. At
the Reynolds number around 15000, heat transfer
enhancement in terms of Nusselt number increases by 28%,

34% and 49% for 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% volume concentration

nanofluid compared to that of water.
It is observed that the use of STT insert enhancement
in convective heat transfer coefficient is achieved in both base
fluid and nanofluid. The helices developed in the inner tube
induce turbulence and swirl in the fluid and cause effective
mixing of fluid. The nanoparticles in the vicinity of inner wall
of the tube will carry heat energy and transmit the same to the
adjacent fluid layers of cold fluid at a higher rate. The helices
also increase the retention time of flow in the test section as
the fluid has to move in a helical path, consequently increasing
the flow path length. This could be another reason which is
responsible for enhancement in the performance of heat
transfer in nanofluid.This is due to intensification of swirl
which promotes convective heat transfer in the nanofluid.
5.3 Friction factor for nanofluid flowing in a plain tube
Experiments are conducted to determine friction
factor with different volume concentrations of Al2O3 nanofluid
and are shown in Figure 8 along with the friction factor data of
water.
It is observed that friction factor increases with
increase of volume concentration and Reynolds number.
While for Reynolds number around 5000, friction factor
enhances by 20%, 36% and 90% for 0.25%, 0.5% and 1%
volume concentration nanofluid compared to that of water.

Figure 8.Experimental Friction factor (water, 0.25% nf,0.5% nf & 1% nf)

vs. Reynolds number.

The friction factor enhancement for 0.25%,0.5% and 1%

volume concentration nanofluid is of 16%,28% and 82%
compared to that of water for the Reynolds number of 10000.
At the Reynolds number around 15000, friction factor
increases by 5%, 11% and 56% for 0.25%, 0.5% and 1%
volume concentration nanofluid compared to that of water.
However, it may not affect the pump performance because of
very low volume concentrations considered in the present
experiment.

5.4. Friction factor for nanofluid flowing in a tube

with Serrated twisted tape insert.
Further experiments are conducted to evaluate the
friction factor for nanofluid with serrated twisted tape insert
inside a tube and the experimental results are shown in figure
9 given below.
The friction factor for 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% volume
concentration nanofluid is of 15%, 28% and 46% compared to
that of water for the Reynolds number of 5000.While for
Reynolds number around 10000, friction factor decreased by
11% ,20% and 33% for 0.25%,0.5% and 1% volume
concentration nanofluid compared to that of water. At the
Reynolds number around 15000 the friction factor decreased
by 7%, 16% and 23% for 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% volume
concentration nanofluid compared to that of water.
From the graph it depicts that the friction factor of
water with STT in plain tube increases around 40% compared
to that of friction factor obtained from water in plain tube. The
percentage increase of friction factor in plain tube for all
volume concentrations of nanofluid to water is higher than that
of percentage increase of friction factor in STT inserted tube.

Figure 9. Experimental friction factor (water, 0.25% nf with STT, 0.5%

nf with STT & 1% nf with STT) vs. Reynolds number.

But, the increase in magnitude of nanofluid friction

factor with STT inserts is negligible. It is expected that, it may
not cause severe penalty on the pumping power of nanofluid
into the test section when both STT and higher concentration
nanofluid is used due to the increase in pressure drop.

5.5. Thermal Performance factor for nanofluid flowing in a

tube with serrated twisted tape insert
The thermal performance factor( ), of the test tube
fitted with serrated twisted tape is defined as the ratio of heat
transfer coefficient for the inserted tube (ht) to that of the plain
tube (hp) at the same level of pumping power can be expressed
as follows,
= ht / hp = (Nut / Nup) / (ft / fp)1/3
Thermal performance factor for the Reynolds number
of 5000 at 0.25% volume concentration Al2O3 nanofluid with
STT, 0.5% volume concentration Al2O3 nanofluid with STT
and 1% volume concentration Al 2O3 nanofluid with STT when
compared to water in plain tube increases by 22%,26% and
34%.At the Reynolds number of 10000,all the above values
increases by 24%,27% and 38% when compared to that of
water in plain tube Increase in thermal performance of when
compared to water in plain tube increases for the Reynolds
number of 15000 is of 26%,30% and 41%.
.Thermal performance factor denotes the actual
increase in energy transfer by taking into account of both
increase in heat transfer and increase in pumping power.
Increase of thermal performance at 1% volume concentration
nanofluid is higher compared to that of all other volume
concentration. But further increase in volume concentration
tends to decrease in thermal performance as the friction factor
increases drastically which in turn increases the pressure drop
and pumping power.

VI. CONCLUSIONS
The present study is concerned about heat transfer,
friction factor and thermal performance factor of Al2O3/ water
nanofluid flowing in circular tube with and without serrated
twisted tape insert. The observations from the experimental
investigation are given below.
1. In plain tube using Al2O3/ water nanofluid of 1%
volume concentration, the increase of heat transfer
rate in terms of Nusselt number is from 39% to 46%
when Reynolds number is altered in the range from
5000 to 15000 compared to water.
2. Heat transfer rate in terms of Nusselt number further
enhance while using serrated twisted tape. It is
observed that in the presence of serrated twisted tape,
heat transfer enhancement for 1% volume
concentration nanofluid is of 42% to 49% when
Reynolds number varies from 5000 to 15000.It
clearly shows the heat transfer enhancement due to
combined effect of serrated twisted tube and addition
nanoparticle.
3. Friction factor in plain tube for 1% volume
concentration of Al2O3/ water nanofluid increases
from 90% to 56% as the Reynolds number varies
from 5000 to 15000 on comparison with water .While
friction factor in tube with serrated twisted tape for
1% volume concentration of Al2O3/ water nanofluid
decreases from 46% to 23% when compared to water
with serrated twisted tape.
4. Thermal performance factor of 1% volume
concentration of Al2O3/ water nanofluid with serrated
twisted tape increases from 26% to 41% when
Reynolds number varies from 5000 to 15000.
5. The addition of Al2O3 nanoparticle increases the heat
transfer and at the mean while it introduces pressure
drop in the system due to increase in friction factor.
So nanoparticle concentration should not be
increased beyond 2%.
6. By using serrated twisted tape and nanofluid, we can
reduce the size of the heat exchanger.
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Figure 10.Thermal performance factor (water, 0.25% nf with STT, 0.5%

nf with STT & 1% nf with STT) vs. Reynolds number

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