Enhancing heat exchanger performance with perforated/non-perforated flow modulators generating continuous/discontinuous swirl flow: A comprehensive review

Abstract

Heat exchangers are crucial in transferring heat and finding applications across various industries. Numerous strategies have been devised to improve and optimize the heat transfer process within these systems. Among these, passive methods have garnered significant attention for their ability to operate without external power consumption. This article examines the recent experimental and computational studies conducted by researchers since 2018 on passive enhancement techniques, especially twisted tape, wire coil, swirl flow generator, and others, to boost the thermal efficiency of heat exchangers and aid designers in adopting passive augmentation methods for compact heat exchangers. Recently, researchers' new class of flow maldistribution devices, referred to as swirl flow devices, has gained attention; which enhances convective heat transfer by introducing swirl into the main flow and disrupting the boundary layer at the tube surface through alterations in surface geometry. Twisted tape inserts are devices that demonstrate better performance in laminar flow compared to turbulent flow. Conversely, other passive techniques like ribs, conical nozzles, and conical rings are generally more effective in turbulent flow than laminar flow. A recent research trend is the utilization of nanofluids in combination with other passive heat transfer enhancement techniques like turbulators, ribs, and twisted tape inserts in heat exchangers, which can reduce exergy losses and improve overall convective heat transfer coefficient and effectiveness of heat exchanger.