Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (Apr 2023)
Experimental and numerical study of convective heat transfer in-line tube bundle by acoustic action
Abstract
This paper proposes the acoustic properties acting on the in-line tube bundles heat exchanger and an analysis of the tube bundle gap flow characteristics and convective heat transfer. In contrast to the reported literature, the present study adds the effect of audible sound on the tube array gap flow, in which the Reynolds number for free flow is Re = 2000, sound frequency is f = 100–1000 Hz, and sound pressure level range is SPL = 127–145 dB. In this paper, a numerical calculated turbulence intensity and Reynolds shear stress of the fluid in the tube bundles gap for acoustic frequency and sound pressure level. Moreover, experiments revealed the effect of acoustic properties on convective heat transfer on the surface of the tube bundles. The results show that the average Nussle number increases by almost 1.8 when the acoustic frequency f = 100 Hz is added, and the sound pressure level reaches 145 dB, compared to no acoustic perturbation. The average Nussle number increases by almost 2.1 when the sound pressure level reaches 145 dB with frequency modulation of f = 1000 Hz. Since the relative error is less than 15% between experimental and numerical calculations, acoustic waves are able to enhance convective heat transfer through the tube array. At the same time, the present study serves as a reference for engineering applications.
