1Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli-620015, Tamil Nadu, India.
2Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli-620015, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Corresponding Author
Experimental studies on tubes fitted with Left - Right twisted tape inserts of various twist ratios to enhance the convective heat transfer rate are studied for thermosyphon solar water heater system. The swirl flow is induced by Left-Right twisted tape in clockwise and counterclockwise direction inside the riser tube which enhances the heat transfer. The various parameters such as Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal efficiency are studied. Empirical correlations developed for Nusselt number and friction factor for various Left-Right twist ratios (Y=3, 4, 5 and 6) are found to fit with the experimental data within ± 6.36% and ± 5.69% respectively. The result shows that thermal performance of tube fitted with Left-Right twisted tape collector is better than the plain tube collector. The increased thermal performance of twisted tape collector is due to the introduction of swirl flow.
thermosyphon, Left-Right twist tape, Swirl flow, Reynolds number, friction factor, Nusselt number
