Experimental investigation on heat transfer performance of the grooved spiral wound heat exchanger

Abstract To enhance the heat transfer efficiency of the spiral wound heat exchanger, a grooved spiral wound heat exchanger (GSWHE) was proposed. A test platform was accomplished to experimentally investigate the heat transfer performance with the comparison of a spiral wound heat exchanger (SWHE). The uncertainty analysis of the experiment was conducted, with the maximum relative error being not more than ±5%. The comprehensive heat transfer coefficient of the GSWHE is higher than that of the SWHE when the cooling water flow rate is low. To determine the heat transfer coefficient of both sides, the Wilson plot method was applied. The tube side heat transfer coefficient in the SWHE is found to have an error of about ±30% compared to the empirical correlations. The results also clearly suggest that grooves enhance the heat transfer of the shell side in the GSWHE. By employing effectiveness as a criterion, the comprehensive performance of the GSWHE was found to be 1.23 times higher than that of the SWHE.