Jul 2026· Journal of Thermal Engineering· 0 citations
Abstract
This research presents a detailed computational assessment of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger equipped with helical baffles, emphasizing the
influence of baffle pitch on the system’s overall thermal and hydraulic behavior. The primary aim was to enhance heat transfer capability while
limiting pressure losses, which is an essential requirement for industrial sectors such as energy production, petrochemicals, refrigeration, and
HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) applications. The heat exchanger model was constructed in CATIA V5, and CFD (Computational
Fluid Dynamics) simulations were performed in ANSYS Fluent 15.0 to analyze the impact of different baffle pitches (ranging from
26 to 50 mm) on shell-side performance parameters: pressure drop, temperature difference, and total heat transfer rate over a mass flow range
between 0.1571 and 0.6284 kg/s. The computational results found a 38-mm baffle pitch as the most efficient configuration, yielding a maximum
heat transfer rate of 14.9 kW and a temperature reduction of 8.4 °C, with a moderate pressure penalty. Visualization of the flow field confirmed
the formation of stable swirling and crossflow zones that promote effective mixing without introducing excessive resistance. The study delivers
a systematic CFD-based analysis covering a broad range of operating conditions and offers practical guidelines for perfecting industrial heat
exchanger designs. The novelty of this work lies in its quantitative evaluation strategy, which decides the best configuration through balanced
consideration of both thermal enhancement and fluid dynamic efficiency. In addition to conventional thermal and hydraulic parameters, the
study introduces a thermal–hydraulic performance metric based on the heat transfer rate per unit pressure drop(Q/ΔP). This index provides
an integrated measure of heat transfer effectiveness compared to pumping power. Analysis of this performance index further confirms that the
38 mm pitch delivers the highest thermal–hydraulic efficiency, confirming it as the best configuration across all tested operating conditions.
This study aims to develop and evaluate an innovative design of a shell and tube heat exchanger (STHX) featuring porous sectional baffles to enhance its thermal and hydraulic performance (TPF). A numerical investigation based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is conducted to analyze the TPF of STHX. A parametric study is performed to evaluate the effects of baffle inclination angle and double cut ratio design on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics. The model included six metal foam baffles with an initial cut ratio of 20 % (MFBs), and its performance was compared to that of a conventional heat exchanger with solid baffles. The effect of foam baffle inclinations at various angles (0°,10°, 20°, 30° and 30° parallel) was also analysed. Also, the effect of the double-cut ratio of the foam baffle (2×10 %, 2×15 %, 2×20 %, and 2×10 % parallel) over a range of mass flow rates between 1.2 and 2.0 kg/s and
R
e
range (11000-16000). The results showed that the use of MFBs lead to a maximum reduction of
∆
P
by 32 % with (2×10 %) design at 2 kg/s accompanied by a significant improvement in TPF. Furthermore, a 30° baffle inclination improved the TPF to 2.207 at (1.2 kg/s), accompanied by a 50 % increase in
N
u
and a 25.5 % reduction
∆
P
. The best TPF was recorded at the ratio (2×10 %), where the (TPF) = 2.389 at 1.2 kg/s, with a
N
u
improvement of 54.4 % compared to a solid baffle. The obtained results provide useful design guidelines for STHXs widely used in energy, petrochemical, and chemical processing industries.
R. Faraj, A. J. J. Al-jassani, H. Al-Bugharbee· Mathematical Models in Engin...· 0 citations
This work aims to evaluate the thermal and hydraulic performance (TPF) of shell and tube heat exchanger with structured metal foam baffles. The configurations of the metallic foam baffles contain baffles with 20% cut ratio, double cut ratio (2 × 10%), and helical tape form. Additionally, the impact of baffles inclination angle of 0° and 30° were also investigated in the first two configurations. For these entire configurations, metal foam was kept with constant volume. Numerical simulations using ANSYS FLUENT 2025 R2 software were performed to estimate the TPF of the heat exchanger for each configuration. Nusselt number (Nu), outlet temperature, and pressure drop () were calculated and compared with those obtained from conventional solid baffles. All the results were obtained at a mass flow range of 1.2 to 2.0 kg/s. The findings demonstrated that the use of metallic foam baffles generally reduced the pressure drop by up to 52% compared with solid baffles. In comparison to solid baffles, the double‐cut design (2 × 10%) showed a 54.4% increase in the Nu with a 23% reduction in pressure drop and 2.389 increase in the TPF value. Additionally, it was observed an increase of 74% in the Nu, and an increase of 4.906 in the TPF for the helical tape configuration.
R. Faraj, Abbas J. Jubear Al‐ Jassani, H. Al-Bugharbee· Heat Transfer· 0 citations
The use of artificial baffles is an effective passive method for enhancing heat transfer in solar air heaters (SAHs). This study numerically investigates the thermo-hydraulic performance of a channel equipped with trapezoidal baffles. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the study analyzes the effect of the relative pitch (P/W) of the baffles and varying inlet velocities (v = 2 to 6 m/s) on the Nusselt number ratio (Nu/Nu0), friction factor ratio (f/f0), and the overall Thermo-Hydraulic Performance Factor (TPF). The results indicate that the introduction of trapezoidal baffles disrupts thermal stratification but increases pressure drop. The model with a relative pitch of P/W = 0.105 (Model P3) demonstrated the optimal balance between heat transfer enhancement and flow resistance, achieving the highest TPF.
Susu Qi· 2026 5th International Confe...· 0 citations
Heat exchangers are essential components in thermal systems, and their performance depends on both material properties and exchanger configuration. This study presents a CFD-based evaluation of shell-and-tube and plate heat exchangers manufactured from copper, aluminium, and titanium. The geometries were developed in SolidWorks 2023 and analysed using SolidWorks Flow Simulation under steady-state laminar-flow conditions. Water was used as the hot and cold working fluid, with identical inlet conditions and mass flow rate applied to all cases to ensure a consistent comparison. Thermal performance was assessed using temperature distribution, heat duty, pressure drop, effectiveness, Reynolds number, log mean temperature difference, and overall heat-transfer coefficient. The results showed that copper provided the highest thermal performance among the investigated materials because of its higher thermal conductivity. The copper plate heat exchanger achieved the highest heat duty of 4.42 kW and an effectiveness of 13.2%, while the copper shell-and-tube heat exchanger produced a heat duty of 4.16 kW and an effectiveness of 12.4%. Aluminium produced moderate heat duties of 3.12 kW for the plate configuration and 2.91 kW for the shell-and-tube configuration. Titanium showed the lowest heat duties, with 1.40 kW for the plate heat exchanger and 1.23 kW for the shell-and-tube heat exchanger, although it remains relevant where corrosion resistance is required. The calculated Reynolds number confirmed laminar flow, and the pressure drops were low across the configurations. Overall, the plate heat exchanger showed better heat-transfer performance than the shell-and-tube design under the simulated conditions, while the engineering calculations supported the CFD results.
M. L. Asor, M. Akintunde, A. Akinola et al.· Journal of Energy Research a...· 0 citations
This study numerically investigates the thermal and energy performance of double helical and conical coil heat exchangers using CFD simulations under turbulent flow conditions. The analysis focuses on optimizing key design parameters—coil geometry, coil pitch (16 mm and 20 mm), and hot and cold flow rates (1.5 to 6 LPM)—while evaluating the impact of different working fluids: water, 0.4% CuO, 0.4% Al₂O₃, and 0.4% Fe₂O₃ nanofluids. The Taguchi method (L₁₆ orthogonal array) was employed to identify optimal parameter combinations for maximizing heat transfer and minimizing exergy loss across 16 simulation cases. Simulation results revealed that Nusselt number increases with both cold rates, particularly for Al₂O₃ nanofluid, which demonstrated the highest heat transfer performance. In contrast, exergy loss increases with increasing cold flow rate, while water exhibits the lowest and most stable exergy loss across flow conditions. Additionally, increasing coil pitch was found to reduce the heat transfer coefficient, especially in helical configurations. The Taguchi analysis identified that: The optimum combination for maximum heat transfer is a conical coil with 16 mm pitch, 0.4% Al₂O₃ nanofluid, cold flow rate 6 LPM, and hot flow rate 1.5 LPM. The optimum condition for minimizing exergy loss is a conical coil with 16 mm pitch, water, and both cold and hot flow rates at 1.5 LPM. This study provides a comprehensive framework for enhancing the design of compact coil heat exchangers for energy-efficient applications.
Faisal Iqbal, Prasanjit Das, M. Arman· Engineering· 0 citations
Shell-and-tube heat exchangers (STHEs) are widely used but limited by the low thermal conductivity of conventional fluids. This study uses CFD simulations to compare the thermal performance of Fe3O4-water and Al2O3-water nanofluids in an STHE under laminar flow. Nanoparticle concentrations of 5–20% and Reynolds numbers of 200-1000 were tested. Model validation showed deviations within ±8%. Results reveal that both nanofluids enhance heat transfer, with Fe3O4 consistently outperforming Al2O3. At ϕ = 20% and Re = 1000, Fe3O4 achieved a maximum heat transfer coefficient of 306.95 W/m²·K, about 318% higher than water and 40% above Al2O3. Temperature contours confirmed thinner boundary layers and greater heat removal for Fe3O4, highlighting its superior thermal capability for compact heat exchanger applications.
