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 JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE,VOL. 65,NO. 4, AUG. 2018, PP. 307-329
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, CAIRO UNIVERSITY

INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF

TURBULENT FLOW IN CORRUGATED TUBES

A. KAOOD1, T. ABOU-DEIF2, H. ELTAHAN3, M.A. YEHIA4 AND E.E. KHALIL5

ABSTRACT

Thermal and hydraulic characteristics of turbulent water flow in a transverse

corrugated tube with various corrugation directions (inward/outward) and shapes
(triangle, curve, rectangle and trapezoid) are numerically investigated. The
axisymmetric model of corrugated tubes with 10 mm inner diameter was studied by
changing the roughness geometry for seven studied values of Reynolds number within
the range from 5,000 to 61,000 and constant heat flux boundary condition. Structured,
non-uniform grid system is created. Momentum, continuity and energy equations were
treated by means of a finite volume method using the SIMPLE scheme with the k–ε
turbulence model and enhanced wall treatment. The results reveal that the corrugation
direction and shape have perceptible effects on the heat transfer in terms of Nusselt
number (Nu) and pressure drop in terms of friction factor (ƒ). The average Nu for
(inward) trapezoidal, rectangular, curved and triangular corrugation shapes are
52.61%, 50.12%, 47.82% and 44.96%, respectively, higher than that for the smooth
tube. The average Nu for (outward) trapezoidal, curved, triangular and rectangular
corrugation shapes are 48.31%, 45.72%, 41.23% and 40.94%, respectively, higher than
that for the smooth tube. The results reveal that both inward/outward curved and
triangular roughness shape have the superior Performance Evaluation Criteria (PEC)
than rectangular and trapezoidal.

KEYWORDS: Friction factor; Nusselt number; corrugated tube; rib; PEC.

1. INTRODUCTION

A large portion of the energy is being consumed in industrial processes and

power generation. While energy resources are exhausting at an alarming rate.
Therefore, energy conversation has become a very important issue. In many industrial
sectors, using high-performance heat exchangers is one of the promising manners for

1
Lecturer Assistant of Mechanical Power Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Fayoum University, e-mail:
[email protected]
2
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Power Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
3
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Power Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Fayoum University.
4
Associate Professor of Mechanical Power Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
5
Professor of Mechanical Power Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
 A.KAOOD ET AL

energy saving. This can be achieved by using various heat transfer enhancement
techniques [1]. During the last decades, vast number of studies have been carried out
to enhance the heat transfer characteristics in many engineering applications to provide
more reliable and efficient thermal systems in terms of reducing the size, weight and
cost, consequently increasing energy saving [2]. There are three techniques that can be
used for enhancing heat transfer rate, which are active, passive and combination
techniques. For active technique, an external power is required to achieve the
enhancement process, such as rotating or wiping the heat transfer surface, surface
vibration and fluid vibration, injection or suction of the working fluids and using
electrostatic fields. The cost of additional power, complexity and difficulty in
manufacturing make this technique limited for special applications. While for passive
technique, no external power is needed such as surface roughness, helical coil inserts
and twisted tape inserts [3-5]. Corrugated tube is one of the passive techniques that is
commonly used in various applications such as solar heaters, condensers, evaporators,
gas turbine blade, steam condensers, nuclear reactors, heat exchangers, etc. [5].
During the last decades, several studies on the convective turbulent heat transfer
in rough tubes have been conducted and published. One of the popular and firstly
appeared investigation was presented for a turbulent flow in roughened tubes [6]. The
obtained results are for the heat transfer coefficients and the friction factors of
turbulent flow of water under constant heat flux boundary condition through
electrically heated tube. It was found that an augmentation of heat transfer coefficients
up to 270% can be achieved due to the roughness, but with larger increase in the
friction coefficients. Thermo-hydraulic characteristics of turbulent flow in tubes with
inward rectangular repeated rib roughness were studied [7].
Numerical and experimental investigations of turbulent flow through inclined
transverse rectangular ribs were conducted [8]. The obtained results have revealed that
the highest Nu number took place at the bottom regions of the ribs with angle 60°. The
heat transfer enhancement due to curved transverse roughness in circular tubes was
experimentally investigated for air as working fluid [9]. It was found that the influence
of Re on the friction factor (ƒ) is weak for rib-roughened tubes. On the other hand, it

2
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

has been indicated that for a specific rib pitch, the heat transfer augmentation increased
with the increase of the rib height, but the efficiency index enhanced by decreasing the
rib height.
Turbulent air flow characteristics in internally grooved tubes were
experimentally investigated [10]. The obtained results show that for grooved tubes,
maximum heat transfer augmentations achieved were up to 47% for rectangular
grooves, 58% for trapezoidal and 63% for circular grooves compared with the smooth
tube. Turbulent water flow was investigated numerically and experimentally in pipes
with periodic rectangular corrugations [11]. The results indicate that the friction factor
(ƒ) increases as the groove length increases and is unaffected by the groove height.
Results of experimental study of turbulent water flow through tubes with variant
roughness height were reported [12]. These results reveal that performance evaluation
criterion for rough tube increased first till reached a maximum value then it decreased
with increasing Reynolds number. For a specific roughness height, Nu ratio does not
always increase with increasing Reynolds number.
The use of helically roughness in tubes has been found to be a promising
method to increase the heat transfer rates in forced convection as indicated by several
investigators. Pressure loss and heat transfer characteristics through helically ribbed
tube were experimentally investigated [13]. It is indicated that a remarkable effect on
the pressure loss and heat transfer augmentation was found because of the use of
helically roughened ribs. The Nu enhancement was higher for larger depth and smaller
pitch of the helical rib. A single-phase pressure loss and heat transfer in a helical
micro-fin tube using water and oil as the working fluids with Prandtl number ranged
from 3.2 to 220, and Reynolds number from 2500 to 90,000 was experimentally
studied [14]. It was found that for Reynolds numbers larger than 30,000 the friction
factor (ƒ) is about 40 to 50% higher than that for a plain tube.
The effects of rib-height to diameter ratio and rib-pitch to diameter ratio in
helically roughened tubes on augmentation of heat transfer were illustrated
experimentally [15]. The obtained results reveal that the effect of rib pitch ratio was
dominant only for the friction factor (ƒ) while the rib-height ratio was the main factor

3
 A.KAOOD ET AL

that controls the thermal performance characteristics. Numerical study of steady heat
transfer augmentation of laminar and transitional flow regions in coiled-tube heat
exchangers with helically ribs was reported [16]. It was found that a 80–100% increase
of heat transfer rate occurred due to the developed swirling flow while the relative
pressure drop is 10–600% larger compared to the traditional helically coiled heat
exchangers. The passive technique of heat transfer augmentation methods was
investigated numerically to estimate the distribution of temperature and pressure in a
smooth tube, corrugated and helically-finned tubes [17]. The results reveal that the
highest convective heat transfer coefficient and friction factor were obtained with
helically finned tube compared with corrugated and smooth tubes.
The employment of surface roughness in the form of periodic ribs was found to
be an efficient passive technique to improve the heat transfer in convective turbulent
flow, as pointed out by several researchers [2,18]. The enhancement, because of
improving the local turbulence caused by ribs, is significantly higher than obtained by
smooth channel [19]. They numerically investigated the turbulent forced convection in
a 2-dimensional channel with periodic transverse grooves on the channel wall. They
indicate that the Nu increased and ƒ decreased with increasing of Reynolds number.
The friction factor for air flow in the grooved channel with larger width ratio was
found to be higher than that with smaller width ratio. A numerical study was reported
on the thermo-hydraulic performance of turbulent flow through an axisymmetric 2D
tube with non-uniform half-circle corrugation for Reynolds number ranging from 6000
to 57000 [20]. It was found that the friction factor and effectiveness factor decrease
with increasing of Re. They also indicated that, the performance of ribbed tube with a
pitch of 12.5 mm is more effective than that with a 10 mm rib-pitch for the same
geometrical parameters.
Recently, the thermal and hydraulic characteristics through a rib-grooved
channel were investigated numerically for turbulent flow of different types of
nanofluids including Al2O3, CuO, ZnO and SiO2 [21]. The results indicate that SiO2-
water nanofluid gives the highest Nu, and that increasing the nanoparticles volume
fraction enhanced the Nu within the range of Re from 30,000 to 50,000. A numerical

4
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

study of turbulent nanofluid flows Al2O3, CuO, ZnO and SiO2 through channels with
transversely inward ribs of different shapes was reported for Re ranged from 5000 to
20000 and heat flux boundary condition of 10 kW/m2 [2]. The results revealed that the
highest PEC was obtained for the in-lined triangular roughness with width to height
ratio w/e = 4 at Re = 5000.
Obviously, the advantages of using the corrugated tube as a passive technique
for heat transfer enhancement motivate us to investigate the pressure drop and heat
transfer characteristics of turbulent flow in such channels. Most previous studies
tackled flow in channel of different geometries and limited corrugation shapes with
several studies used nanofluids as working fluid. From the above literature review, it
can be stated that the case of fully turbulent water flow in inward/outward transversely
distributed triangular, rectangular, curved and trapezoidal corrugated tubes seems to
the author's knowledge have not been thoroughly investigated. The present study
numerically investigates the 2D axisymmetric turbulent forced convective flow in
transversely corrugated tubes having different corrugation shapes (triangular,
rectangular, curved and trapezoidal) distributed inward/outward. Different corrugation
pitch-to-diameter ratio (p/d); corrugation height-to-diameter ratio (e/d); and
corrugation width-to-diameter ratio (w/d) are considered for flow with Reynolds
numbers in the range from 5000 to 61,000. Factors of interest are the heat transfer in
terms of Nusselt number (Nu), pressure loss in terms of friction factor (ƒ) and thermal
performance evaluation criterion (PEC) for turbulent forced convective in tubes with
inward/outward transversely corrugations of different shapes as mentioned above.
These characteristics are presented and discussed to reveal the effects of the different
geometrical shapes on the thermal and flow fields in the prescribed tubes.

2. MODEL DESCRIPTION

The thermo-hydraulic characteristics of the turbulent flow through corrugated

tubes with various transverse ribs configurations for different corrugation directions
are studied in the present investigation and compared with those for a smooth tube.

5
 A.KAOOD ET AL

The configuration of various ribs and corrugation directions are shown in Fig.1 while
the geometrical parameters of these corrugations and the tubes are shown in Fig. 2
along with the physical model and computational domain considered in the present
study. The geometrical parameters and dimensions of the tube and the studied
corrugations are: d = 10 mm, l = 100 mm, e/d = 0.025, w/d = 0.2 and p/d = 0.5.

Fig. 1. Corrugation shapes with different ribs direction.

For similar studies, the instability of the 3-dimensional vortex can be neglected
[20]. Thus, the 3D problem can be simplified to the 2D axisymmetric to decrease the
cost and time of computation in both the smooth and corrugated tubes [4,20]. The
axisymmetric physical model of the studied tube, test section and the computational
domain are shown in Fig. 2(b). The investigation has been carried out for fully
developed turbulent flow conditions with seven different Reynolds numbers within the
range from 5000 to 61000. Water is used as the working fluid.

6
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

(a) (b)

Fig. 2. (a) Geometrical parameters of the corrugations. (b) Schematic diagram of

corrugated tube: (i) Physical model for corrugated tube and (ii) 2D axisymmetric
computational domain (iii) Portion of test section.

3. MATHEMATICAL MODELLING
3.1 Governing equations and mathematical methods

The flow field is governed by the two-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-

Stokes (RANS) equations, based on the assumptions that the heat transfer and fluid
flow processes considered in the present study are turbulent and the heat loss to the
environment is neglected. Of the several turbulence models available for closure of the
governing equations, the two-equation k-ε model proposed in [22] has demonstrated
good behavior in modelling fluid flow in the periodic grooved tube as indicated in
[19]. Realizable k-ε model has been found to be suitable for the finned and corrugated
tubes. The realizable k- ε model with thermal enhanced wall treatment has been
applied to the present computation. Consequently, the used governing equations can be
written as follows [4,23-25]:
Continuity equation:

(1)

7
 A.KAOOD ET AL

Momentum equation:

(2)

Energy equation:

(3)

Where u is fluid velocity, E total energy, turbulent Prandtl number, normal

stress tensor and is deviatoric stress tensor, which is defined as:

(4)

The turbulence kinetic energy (k) and rate of energy dissipation (ε) equations as given
in [4,23-25]:

(5)

(6)

Where Г is production rate of k can be expressed as;

(7)

(8)

Where constants of the model are as follows [24]:

, , , .
All the governing equations were solved using the FLUENT software, which is
based on the finite volume method [25]. The SIMPLE (Simi-Implicit Pressure Linked
Equation) algorithm was used for the velocity pressure coupling, while a second-order
upwind scheme and a central difference scheme were used for discretizing convective
and diffusive terms, respectively. The minimum convergence criterion was set to be
1×10-7 for the continuity equation, velocity and turbulence quantities and 10-8 for the
energy equation. The following assumptions are adopted for the numerical
computation carried out in the present study: (i) Corrugations are periodically

8
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

distributed along the axial direction of the tube; (ii) The flow is steady, turbulent, fully
developed, 2-dimensional axisymmetric; (iii) Variation of properties of water are
negligible. Moreover, the heat loss to the environment is neglected.

3.2 Mesh generation and independence test

In the present investigation, a structured mesh of dense layers near the walls and
corrugation ribs was generated by ANSYS-Mesh program [24,25]. The grid was
adopted to capture solution in viscous sub-layer for near-wall modelling (y+≤1) at the
adjacent wall of near-wall regions which applicable with enhanced wall treatment for
the studied range of Reynolds numbers. Four samples of grid system for the outward
and inward corrugations used in the present study are shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. Grid system for (a) Curved outward ribs (b) Triangular outward ribs
(c) Curved inward ribs (c) Triangular inward ribs.
For the grid independence test, seven different mesh densities into the present tubes
are tested over the average Nusselt number and friction factor values for the studied Re
range. For example, the mesh independence test for inward triangular corrugation at
Re = 30,000 is shown in Fig. 4. The seven meshes have grid layout with
approximately 37,700 cells, 75,400 cells, 113,100 cells, 188,500 cells, 377,000 cells,
565,500 cells and 754,000 cells, respectively.

9
 A.KAOOD ET AL

Fig. 4. Grid independence test.

It has been found that after 188,500 cells, a further increase in cells results in a small
variation in the computed average values of both Nu and ƒ as indicated in Fig. 4. This
indication has been taken as a criterion for grid independence. The fifth grid
configuration (377,000 cells) confirms the grid-independence therefore, it has been
adopted throughout the current study for the inward triangular ribs to get an acceptable
compromise between the results accuracy and computational time besides, satisfying
the near wall criteria y+≤1 which compatible with enhanced wall treatment. Results of
the mesh independence studies for the rest of various corrugation shapes are
summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Grids number for studied corrugation shapes
Corrugation Direction Corrugation Shape Cells Number
Rectangular 573,000
Trapezoidal 434,100
Inward
Curved 353,500
Triangular 377,000
Rectangular 454,000
Trapezoidal 509,100
Outward
Curved 530,400
Triangular 696,000

10
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

3.3 Boundary conditions and data reduction

For a full-length corrugated tube (400 mm), a uniform velocity was introduced
at the inlet and the fluid temperature at the inlet was fixed at 300 K, ensuring fully
developed turbulent flow at the inlet of the test section (100 mm) while a pressure-
outlet condition was adopted at the outlet. Non- slip velocity conditions on the walls
were assumed. A constant and uniform heat flux of 50 W/cm2 was applied to the wall.
Water was selected as the working fluid, moreover, all results were obtained under
steady-flow conditions with Reynolds number ranging from 5000 to 61000. In the
present simulation, enhanced wall treatment which combinations the viscous sub-layer
formulation and the logarithmic layer formulation were used for the near-wall
treatments for fluid velocity and temperature fields adopted with the k-ε model [25].
Data reduction of the numerical results are summarized below.
The Reynolds number is defined as follows:
(9)

The average heat transfer coefficient can be calculated as follows:

(10)

The average Nusselt number is calculated as follows:

(11)

The Friction factor is defined as follows:

(12)

The Performance Evaluation Criteria (PEC) [26] is defined by:

(13)

where (Num, ƒm) and (Nus, ƒs) are the Nusselt number and the friction factor for
modified tube (corrugated) and smooth tube, respectively. More details concerning
PEC were presented in [4,26].

11
 A.KAOOD ET AL

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Model validation
To assure the reliability of the numerical algorithm procedure adopted in the
present study, the numerical results for fully developed turbulent flow in a smooth tube
were compared to the well-known empirical correlations. These correlations with their
valid ranges are presented in Eqs. (14-18) as follows:
Correlation of Nusselt number [27],

(14)

Correlation of Nusselt number [28],

, (15)

Correlation of friction factor [29],

, (16)
Correlation of friction factor [30],
, (17)
Correlations of friction factor [31],
,
(18)
,
Fig. 5(a) and 5(b) show the comparison of the numerically estimated Nu and ƒ with the
corresponding values estimated from the empirical correlations, respectively.
Obviously, the numerical results are in a good agreement with existing correlations.
The estimated average discrepancy of the numerically computed Nusselt number with
that estimated by empirical correlation of Eq. (14) is within 5% and by Eq. (15) is
within 15%. While the average discrepancy of friction factor is within 3.57%, 3.54%
and 4% for Eqs. (16-18), respectively.

12
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

(a) (b)

Fig. 5. Present model validation for smooth tube (a) Nusselt number. (b) Friction
factor.

Another validation was carried out for fully developed turbulent flow through a
corrugated tube with inward rectangle ribs [4]. The results are found to be in a good
agreement for both Nu and ƒ as shown in Fig. 6(a,b).

(a) (b)

Fig. 6. Validation for inward rectangle ribbed tube (a) Nusselt number. (b) Friction
factor.
Therefore, the numerical algorithm adopted in the present study for heat transfer and
pressure drop predictions is considered to be reliable and can be applied for other cases
and different corrugation shapes as presented and discussed below.

13
 A.KAOOD ET AL

4.2. Results of computed heat transfer and friction factor for inward corrugations
4.2.1 Heat Transfer
Results of computed heat transfer rate in terms of the Nusselt number inside circular
tubes with inward transverse corrugations of various shapes are presented and discussed in
this section. The obtained results for the variation of average Nu with Reynolds number in
the range from 5000 to 61000 for inward different corrugation shapes compared with that
for a smooth tube are presented in Fig. 7(a). The figure indicates that as Re increases, the
Nu for the various corrugation shapes also increases. The highest Nu values shown in the
figure are for the rectangular and trapezoidal corrugation shapes due to the presence of
high recirculation and thin boundary layer, consequently better mixing and better heat
transfer enhancement. The average Nu (computed over the considered range of Re) for
trapezoidal, rectangular, curved and triangular corrugation shapes are 52.61%, 50.12%,
47.82% and 44.96%, respectively, higher than that estimated for a smooth tube over the
same range of Re. The results also reveal that all inward corrugation shapes gave higher
values of the Nu than that belong to smooth tube as shown in Fig. 7(a), due to high
turbulence and mixing that occur due to such corrugations in the near wall, thus which
destroy the thermal boundary layer and enhance heat transfer. In addition, the modified to
smooth tube Nu ratio (Num/Nus) increases at low values of the studied range of Re until
reaching a maximum value then decreases with the increase of Re over the rest of Re
range as Fig. 7(b) indicates.

(a) (b)

Fig. 7. Nusselt number (Nu) versus Re for various inward ribs (a) Nu. (b) Nu ratio.

14
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

4.2.2 Friction factor

The pressure drop characteristic in terms of the friction factor (ƒ) in a circular tube
with various transverse corrugation shapes compared with that for a smooth tube is
presented in Fig. 8(a) for the Reynolds number range from 5000 to 61000. The results
show that ƒ for a ribbed tube is higher than that for the smooth tube for the whole
studied range of Re. This is a consequence of the increase of pressure drop and
suppression of the viscous sublayer in corrugated tubes compared to the smooth tube.
The figure shows that for all shapes, ƒ decreases with increasing of Re which is in
agreement with results for rectangle ribs reported in study [4]. The average value of ƒ
computed over the whole range of Re considered in the present study for rectangular,
trapezoidal, curved and triangular corrugation shapes are 265.72%, 238.72%, 168.97%
and 167.01%, respectively, higher than that for smooth tube. Figures 8(a) and (b) show
that the rectangle and trapezoidal shapes give higher ƒ than that for both the triangular
and curved shapes. Moreover, Fig. 8(b) shows that the ratio of friction factor for the
corrugated tube to that of the smooth tube (ƒm/ƒs) increases with increasing of
Reynolds number particularly, for rectangle and trapezoid corrugations. However, it
slightly decreases with the increase of Re after Re ≈30,000 for the triangular and
curved corrugation shapes.

(a) (b)

Fig. 8. Friction factor versus Re for various inward ribs (a) ƒ. (b) ƒ ratio.

15
 A.KAOOD ET AL

4.3 Results of computed heat transfer and friction factor for outward corrugations
4.3.1 Heat Transfer

Results of computed heat transfer rate in terms of Nusselt number with Reynolds
number range from 5000 to 61000 for outward rectangle, triangle, curve and trapezoid
corrugation shapes are depicted in Fig. 9. The results show that as Reynolds number
increases, the Nu values for the various outward corrugation shapes also increase. It is
shown also that all outward corrugation shapes gave higher values of the Nu than that
for a smooth tube, which can be attributed to the better flow mixing caused by the
radial swirl flows. Figure 9 indicates that the trapezoidal and curved corrugation
shapes give the highest Nu compared with that for other shapes over the whole range
of Re considered in the study. On the other hand, the computed average Nu over the
whole range of Re for trapezoidal, curved, triangular and rectangular corrugation
shapes are 48.31%, 45.72%, 41.23% and 40.94%, respectively, higher than that for the
smooth tube. In addition, the ratio of Num for corrugated tubes to that for a smooth
tube Nus ratio (Num/Nus) increases at low values of the studied range of Re until
reaching a maximum value at Re ≈10,000 then decreases with the increase of Re over
the rest of the studied range of Re for the various corrugation shapes.

(a) (b)

Fig. 9. Nusselt number (Nu) versus Re for various outward ribs (a) Nu. (b) Nu ratio.

16
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

4.3.2 Friction factor

The results of pressure drop in terms of friction factor for various outward corrugation
shapes are presented and discussed in this section for the same Reynolds number range
from 5,000 to 61,000. Figure 10(a) shows the comparison of the computed ƒ for
various corrugation shapes as well as that for the smooth tube. It is shown from this
figure that the highest values of ƒ belong to rectangular corrugation shape over the
whole range of Re and that the friction factor for all different studied shapes is always
higher than that for the smooth tube. The computed average friction factor over the
studied range of Re for rectangular, trapezoidal, curved and triangular corrugation
shapes are 162.27%, 146.39%, 116.88% and 87.1%, respectively, higher than that for a
smooth tube. Figure 10(b) shows that the friction factors ratio (ƒm/ƒs) increases with
increasing of Re for all different corrugation shapes however, it remains slightly
constant for Re greater than 30,000.

(a) (b)

Fig. 10. Friction factor versus Re for various outward ribs (a) ƒ. (b) ƒ ratio.

4.4 Results of the thermo-hydraulic performance evaluation for different configurations

The Performance Evaluation Criteria (PEC) as defined above is used in the present
study to compare the thermal and hydrodynamic performance of tubes with different
corrugation shapes and evaluate the heat transfer enhancement for these configurations
at constant pumping power as illustrated in [13]. The variation of PEC with Reynolds
number for the different inward and outward corrugations investigated in the present

17
 A.KAOOD ET AL

study is shown in Fig. 11. It is noted from this figure that for both inward, Fig. 11(a)
and outward, Fig. 11(b), corrugations the PEC increases at low values of the studied
Re until reaching maximum values at Re around 10,000, then start to decrease
gradually. The results show also that both inward/outward curved and triangular
corrugation shapes have in general the superior PEC compared with those for
rectangular and trapezoidal corrugations for the whole studied range of Re. Figure
11(a) also shows that the PEC values are less than one for all inward corrugation
shapes for Re ≥ 40,000. Comparison of Figs. 11(a) and (b) indicates that the outward
corrugation shapes give higher PEC values than corresponding inward corrugation
shapes. It is known that thermal boundary layer becomes thicker as Re decreases.
Consequently, the effect of corrugations in promoting the boundary layer disruption at
lower Re is more significant than that at higher Re. It is noted that at lower Re values,
superior heat transfer enhancement has been achieved (higher Num/Nus and higher
PEC). Accordingly, it can be concluded that the use of corrugated tubes for heat
transfer enhancement is more promising in terms of energy saving at the low Re values
within the studied Re range. It is clear from Fig. 12 that almost all the studied
corrugation shapes have better average/maximum PEC values (PEC ≥ 1) over the
studied range of Re especially, the outward triangular, curved and trapezoidal shapes,
respectively.

(a) (b)

Fig. 11. PEC versus Re for various ribs (a) Inward. (b) Outward

18
 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

.
Fig. 12. Average/Maximum PEC for various ribs.

5. CONCLUSION

In this paper, thermal and hydraulic characteristics of turbulent flow of water

through corrugated tubes of various transverse geometrical shapes (rectangle,
trapezoid, curve and triangle) of inward/outward corrugations for Re range from 5,000
to 61,000 have been numerically investigated, discussed and reported. From the
obtained results the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. A good agreement between present results of rectangular (inward) corrugation
shape with that reported in previous studies.
2. The average Nusselt number over the studied range of Re for (inward) trapezoidal,
rectangular, curved and triangular corrugation shapes are 52.61%, 50.12%, 47.82%
and 44.96%, respectively, higher than that for the smooth tube.
3. The average Nusselt number over the studied range of Re for (outward) trapezoidal,
curved, triangular and rectangular corrugation shapes are 48.31%, 45.72%, 41.23%
and 40.94%, respectively, higher than that for a smooth tube.
4. The computed friction factor values for inward corrugations are higher than those

19
 A.KAOOD ET AL

for outward corrugations. For both cases (inward/outward), the friction factor
decreases with the increase of Re.
5. The average friction factors for (inward) rectangular, trapezoidal, curved and
triangular corrugation shapes are 265.72%, 238.72%, 168.97% and 167.01%,
respectively, higher than that for a smooth tube.
6. The mean friction factor for (outward) rectangular, trapezoidal, curved and
triangular corrugation shapes are 162.27%, 146.39%, 116.88% and 87.1%,
respectively, higher than that for a smooth tube.
7. For both inward/outward corrugations direction with various corrugation shapes, the
PEC increases until reaching maximum values at Re around 10,000, then starts to
decrease gradually.
8. Both inward/outward curved and triangular corrugations have superior PEC than
those for rectangular and trapezoidal corrugations.
9. Based on the present results and conclusions it can be stated that the use of
corrugated tubes for heat transfer enhancement in various applications is more
promising in terms of energy saving at the low Re values within the studied range.

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 INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE….

Nomenclatures uavg. Average velocity, m/s

Asurf. Inner surface area of tube, m2 ù Fluctuated velocity, m/s
w Corrugation width, mm
Specific heat at constant pressure,
cp Dimensionless distance from the
J/kg.K y+
cell centre to a nearest wall
d Tube diameter, mm Greek Symbols
Dh Hydraulic diameter, m ρ Density, kg/m3
e Corrugation height, mm μ Dynamic viscosity, Pa.s
Dynamic viscosity at wall
f Friction factor, dimensionless μw
temperature, Pa.s
Average heat transfer coefficient,
h λ Thermal conductivity, W/m.K
W/m2.K
k Turbulence kinetic energy, J/kg ε Turbulent dissipation rate, m2/s3
L Tube length, mm τ Shear stress, N/m2
l Test section length, mm Subscripts
P Pressure, N/m2 avg. Average
p Corrugation pitch, mm b Bulk
Pr Prandtl number, Pr=μcp/λ m Modified tube
ΔP Pressure drop, Pa s Smooth tube
Q Heat transfer rate, W w Wall
q˵ Heat flux, W/m2 Abbreviation
Re Reynolds number, Re=ρuavg.Dh/μ 2D Two- Dimensional
T Temperature, K Nu Nusselt number
Tw Inner wall temperature, K PEC Performance Evaluation Criteria
Tb Bulk temperature, K

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‫دراسة عددية النتقال الحرارة واالحتكاك لسريان مضطرب داخل انابيب مموجة األسطح‬

‫يتناول البحث دراسة عددية للخصائص الح اررية والهيدروليكية لسريان مائى داخل انابيب ذات أسطح‬
‫ وتم دراسة‬.)‫ خارجية‬/ ‫ منحنى) وباتجاهات مختلفة (داخلية‬،‫ مثلث‬،‫ شبه منحرف‬،‫مموجة بأشكال (مستطيل‬
‫بعض العوامل المتوقع ان تؤدى لتحسين انظمة انتقال الح اررة والتى لها استخدامات عديدة فى معظم‬
‫التطبيقات مثل محطات توليد الطاقة والطاقة الشمسية والتكييف والتبريد والمكثفات والمبخرات وعديد من‬
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‫فى (رقم ناسلت) وتأثيرها على الفقد فى الضغط المتمثل فى (معامل االحتكاك) على مدى من رقم رينولد‬
‫ وتم استخدام معامل لقياس كفاءة وجدوى الزيادة فى انتقال الح اررة مقارنة بالفقد فى‬.61000 ‫ الى‬5000
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.‫ لالنابيب المموجة فى اإلتجاه الداخلى‬%52.61 ‫ الى‬%44.96 ‫معدل انتقال الح اررة بنسبة تتراوح من‬
‫ ووجد ان معامل االداء‬.‫ لالنابيب المتدرجة فى االتجاه الخارجى‬%48.31 ‫ الى‬%40.94 ‫وبنسبة تتراوح من‬
.‫ لمعظم االشكال واالتجاهات خاصة تلك ذات األسطح المموجة فى اإلتجاه الخارجي‬1 ‫أكبر من‬

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