International

OPEN ACCESS Journal

Of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER)

Design and experimental analysis of pipe in pipe heat

exchanger
Ojha Pramod Kailash1, Choudhary Bishwajeet NK2, Gajera Umang B3,
Prajapat Sumit B4, Karangiya Gopal A5
1,2,3,4,5
Mechanical Department, SNPIT & RC, Gujarat technological University, Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT: Pipe in pipe heat exchanger are used in industrial process to recover heat between two
process fluids. The project carried out design of pipe in pipe heat exchanger having tube with fin and
without fin. The fins were taken in the form of semi-circular type arranged in altenating way with
spacing of 50mm.The fins were only provided on the inner tube for creating turbulence of cold water.
The number of fin were 18 and its height and thickness 10 and 1.6mm respectively. Experiment were
performed for heat exchanger with fins and without fins. The experiment were performed for different
flow rates of hot and cold fluid Different parameters like Overall heat transfer,Nusselt
number,Convective heat transfer coefficient,Pressure drop,friction factor were obtained and compared
for simple inner tube and finned tube.
Keywords: Heat Exchanger, Pipe in Pipe, Semi-circular fins, Heat transfer, Effectiveness

I. Introduction
In this double-pipe heat exchanger a hot process fluid flowing through the inner pipe transfers its heat
to cooling water flowing in the annulus. The system is in steady state until conditions change, such as flow rate
or inlet temperature. These changes in conditions cause the temperature distribution to change with time until
a new steady state is reached. The new steady state will be observed once the inlet and outlet temperatures for
the process and coolant fluid become stable. In reality, the temperatures will never be completely stable, but
with large enough changes in inlet temperatures or flow rates a relative steady state can be experimentally
observed.
The objective of any such equipment is to maximize the heat transferred between the two fluids. A
design which increases the heat transferred, but simultaneously could keep the pressure drop of the fluid
flowing in the pipes to permissible limits, is very necessary.
Various literatures were studied for checking effect of different fins on heat transfer enhancement and
pressure drop. Mansoor siddique et.al [1] performed a Experimental study of turbulent single-phase flow and
heat transfer inside a micro-finned tube. Wen-Lih et.al [2] performed Numerical study on heat transfer
characteristics of double tube heat exchangers with alternating horizontal or vertical oval cross section pipes as
inner tubes. N.targui et.al [3] performed Analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in a double pipe heat
exchanger with porous structures. Ebru Kavak Akpinar [4] investigates experimently heat transfer
enhancement in a concentric double pipe heat exchanger equiped with swirl elements. The heat transfer rate in
this increased by 130%. Shou-Shing Shieh et.al [5] proposed heat transfer coefficients of double pipe heat
exchanger with helical type roughened surface.
In the current Design focus is on optimizing the area of the heat exchanger irrespective of the
different flow rates of the utility that can be used. Using this pressure drop is not minimized to the fullest
extent. We have considered the design of a double pipe heat exchanger in which its cost is optimized by
considering three main parameters – the inner and outer diameter of the heat exchanger and the flow rate of
the utility.
The first step in project work is theoretical design of pipe in pipe heat exchanger under different
consideration and design criteria. There are different methods used for calculating the size of heat exchanger
using same input parameter for all methods. Those methods are LMTD method, ϵ - NTU method. The
material used for the inner tube is copper because it has very high thermal conductivity. The material for shell
is Mild steel.

| IJMER | ISSN: 2249–6645 | www.ijmer.com | Vol. 5 | Iss.3| Mar. 2015 | 42|

 Design and experimental analysis of pipe in pipe heat exchanger

II. Indentations And Equations

Symbols Name
Annulus area ( )
Cross-sectional area ( )
Overall area ( )
Cp Specific heat capacity ( )
C* Heat capacity ratio
d Diameter of tube (m)
D Diameter of shell (m)
De Equivalent diameter (m)
Hydraulic diameter (m)
Frictional coefficient
h heat transfer coefficient ( )
K Thermal conductivity ( )
L Length of tube (m)
m Mass flow rate ( )
Nu Nusselt’s no.
P Pump Power ( )
Pr Prandtl’s no.
Q Heat transfer (J/s)
Re Reynolds’s no.
t Thickness (m)
T Temperature (K)
Uo Overall Heat transfer ( )
V Velocity (m/s)
Logarithmic mean temperature difference
∆Tm
(K)
∆P Pressure drop
μ Viscosity
ε Effectiveness
ρ Density
NTU Number of transfer unit

Subscript:
Annulus section
c Cold water
h Hot water
i Inside
o Outside
p Pipe section
1 Inlet
2 Outlet

| IJMER | ISSN: 2249–6645 | www.ijmer.com | Vol. 5 | Iss.3| Mar. 2015 | 43|

 Design and experimental analysis of pipe in pipe heat exchanger

2.1 EQUATIONS:[6][7]
Energy balance equation
------------------------- (1)
Nusselt No. for hot water when fins are not used

-------------------------------------------------- (2)

Where

Nusselt No. for cold water when fins are not used

-------------------------------------------------- (3)

Where

Heat transfer Effectiveness

= -------------------------------------------------------- (4)

Number of Transfer unit

NTU= ---------------------------- (5)

Where C*=

Pressure drop for tube side

= ------------------------------------------------------ (6)
The power required by the pump to overcome the pressure drop is

= -------------------------------------------------------------------- (7)
The pressure drop in the annulus is

= ------------------------------------------------------- (8)

Pressure drop in the bend can be calculated as:[6]

∆ = ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (9)

Where K = + K*
Nusselt No. for inner tube having fins can be calculated as

------------------------------------------ (10)

Where
Nusselt No. for the annulus section with fins can be obtained as
1.86 --------------------------------- (11)
The overall heat transfer coefficient:

----------------------------------------- (12)

| IJMER | ISSN: 2249–6645 | www.ijmer.com | Vol. 5 | Iss.3| Mar. 2015 | 44|

 Design and experimental analysis of pipe in pipe heat exchanger

III. Experimental Setup

In this pipe in pipe heat exchanger a hot process fluid flowing through the inner pipe transfers its heat
to cooling water flowing in the annulus. A hair pin is used which is bend to 180 degree and keep outside the
annulus section. Heat exchanger gives better heat transfer by using fin either in tube side or in shell side or in
both sides. Here semi-circular fin is used for the heat transfer enhancement. The material used for fin is mild
steel which is welded on tube by using gas welding. The number of fin used per tube is 18. The fin are
arranged in alternate manner i.e. one on top side and other on bottom side with 5 cm of spacing of successive
fins. The height of fin is taken as 10 mm and the thickness of fin is taken as 1.6 mm.

Figure 1: Experimental set-up

Figure 2: Inner tube having semi-circular fins

IV. Results And Discussions

For comparison of result obtained from experiment of pipe in pipe heat exchanger with fin and
without fin graph is plotted between different parameter.

| IJMER | ISSN: 2249–6645 | www.ijmer.com | Vol. 5 | Iss.3| Mar. 2015 | 45|

 Design and experimental analysis of pipe in pipe heat exchanger

1) Nu vs Re (Hot and cold side)

Figure 3: Nu vs Re (Hot Side)

Figure 4: Nu vs Re (Cold Side)

The fig shows the graph of Nu vs. Re with simple tube and tube with fin at different mass flow rate.
From above graph it is concluded that after using the fin on tube Nusselt number increase compare to simple
tube, which indicate that tube with fin give more convective heat transfer compare to simple tube whereas on
cold side the nusselt no for simple tube is higher than finned tube because of having lesser heat transfer surface
area.

2) h vs. v (hot and cold side)

Figure 5: ho vs Vc

| IJMER | ISSN: 2249–6645 | www.ijmer.com | Vol. 5 | Iss.3| Mar. 2015 | 46|

 Design and experimental analysis of pipe in pipe heat exchanger

Figure 6: hi vs Vh

The graph of “ho vs. Vc”, “hi vs. Vh” respectively with simple tube and tube with fin at different
mass flow rate. It can be concluded from the graph, the convective heat transfer coefficient is higher for simple
tube as compared to finned tube in cold side because heat transfer surface area for finned tube is more.
Whereas in hot side the finned tube showing better convective heat transfer coefficient.

ƒ vs Re (Hot side)

Figure 7: ƒ vs Re (Hot Side)

Figure 8: ƒ vs Re (Cold Side)

| IJMER | ISSN: 2249–6645 | www.ijmer.com | Vol. 5 | Iss.3| Mar. 2015 | 47|

 Design and experimental analysis of pipe in pipe heat exchanger

The graph of “ƒ vs. Re” for hot and cold side respectively with simple tube and tube with fin at different
mass flow rate. From above graph it is concluded that in hot side the friction factor for simple tube is higher as
compared to finned tube where as in cold side the friction factor for finned tube leads the simple tube because
the fin induced more friction.

Pressure drop vs Re

Figure 8: Pressure drop vs Re

The graph drawn for simple tube and tube with fins at different mass flow rate. From above graph it is
concluded that after using the fin on tube Pressure drop increase due to circular fin restrict the flow of water
compare to simple tube.

V. Conclusions
For = 17161.05, the overall heat transfer coefficient using semi-circular fin decreases is more than
300 % which shows that huge increases in overall heat transfer area. However, the heat transfer enhancement
coefficient behaves oppositely, as this quantity increases with increases in heat transfer area. For mass flow
rate 0.3832 kg/sec, the decreases in convective heat transfer coefficient for the cold side is around 220 % more
than for simple tube hence showing better heat transfer. While for hotter side the value increases around 125%.
The increases in friction factor for the cold side for finned tube is around 140 % more than simple tube for
= 15954.24 while for the hot side the value of friction factor remains approximately same for both tube. The
pressure drop due to friction in cold side for the finned tube is around 450 % more than the simple tube.

Acknowledgement
The authors like to express their thanks to all the faculties of mechanical department of S.N.Patel
Institute of Technology and Research Center, Umrakh for their support and encouragement during this work.

REFERENCES
[1] Mansoor Siddique, Majed Alhazmy, Experimental study of turbulent single-phase flow and heat transfer inside a
micro-finned tube, International journal of refrigeration, 3I, 2008, 234 -241.
[2] Wen-Lih Chen, Wei-Chen Dung, Numerical study on heat transfer characteristics of double tube heat exchangers
with alternating horizontal or vertical oval cross section pipes as inner tubes, Energy Conversion and
Management, 49, 2008, 1574–1583.
[3] N. Targui, H. Kahalerras, Analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in a double pipe heat exchanger with porous
structures Energy Conversion and Management, 49, 2008, 3217–3229.
[4] Ebru Kavak Akpinar, Yasar Bicer, Cengiz Yildiz, Dursun Pehlivan, Heat transfer enhancements in a concentric
double pipe exchanger equipped with swirl element, Int.comm. Heat mass transfer, Vol. 31, No.6, pp.857-868,
2004.
[5] Shou-Shing Heish, Chihng-Tsung Liauh and Anthony C.Ku, Heat transfer coefficients of double pipe heat
exchanger with helical type roughened surface, Heat Recovery Systems Vol.7 No.2, pp. 119-127, 1987.
[6] Prabhata k swamee, Nitin aggarwal, Optimum design of double pipe heat exchanger, International Journal of Heat
and Mass Transfer, 51, 2008, 2260–2266.
[7] Sadik Kakac and Hongtan Liu a textbook of “Heat exchanger selection, design and rating” ed 2, pp. 131-217.

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