Finite element method-based investigation of heat exchanger hydrodynamics: Effects of triangular vortex generator shape and size on flow characteristics

Abstract

Heat exchangers (HEs) play a critical role in numerous industrial and engineering applications by facilitating efficient thermal energy transfer. In the pursuit of enhancing the performance of such systems, this study focuses on the hydrodynamic effects of two distinctive vortex generators (VGs) within a turbulent airflow channel, operating under steady-state conditions. Arranged in a staggered manner, the first vortex generator (VG) adopts a rectangular structure positioned in the upper section, while the second VG, triangular in shape, is situated on the opposing wall at varying heights, ranging from 40 to 80 mm in 10 mm increments. A further examination of the triangular VG includes two cases, one featuring an inclined front-face and the other showcasing an inclined rear-face. The turbulent airflow within the channel is accurately represented using the Newtonian fluid model and the standard k-epsilon turbulence model, while the governing equations are solved through the finite element method. A non-uniform mesh, consisting of triangular and square elements with a specific focus on refining the mesh near walls, is designed to capture boundary layer effects and effectively resolve intricacies in near-wall flow dynamics. The investigation unveils dynamic responses within the channel, characterized by notable flow distortions and prominent regions of recirculation, demonstrating the effectiveness of both rectangular and triangular VGs. Importantly, the analysis shows that tilting the triangular VG’s back-face notably improves the hydrodynamic structure of the HE channel, leading to enhanced recirculation cells and substantially increased performance. In particular, increasing the height of triangular VGs significantly enhances flow velocity within the channel. For instance, the axial velocity increased by 33.8% when the VG height was raised from 40 to 80 mm in the first triangular case, while an increase of about 37.9% was observed in the second triangular case at the lowest inlet velocity of 7.8 m/s. In addition, triangular VGs with an inclined back-surface achieved higher axial velocities compared to those with an inclined front-surface, with a 13.5% increase at the smallest height and a 17.0% increase at the maximum height. Furthermore, increasing the inlet velocity to 9.8 m/s resulted in a 17.1% higher axial velocity in the second model, reaching 55.4 m/s compared to 47.3 m/s in the first model. These findings underscore the importance of optimizing the triangular VG shape, height, and inlet conditions to maximize the hydrodynamic performance of HE systems, leading to potential energy savings and improved efficiency.