Numerical and experimental comparative thermo‐hydraulic flow investigation and augmentation of heat efficiency analysis of 3D tubes based on novel corrugated shape configurations

The study introduces an innovative tube design aimed at improving thermal performance for corrugated shape configurations (CSC). The new configuration involves the integration of cylindrical corrugates (CDS) with a Corrugated Ring Structure (CRS) onto a traditional tube. Various configurations of the parameters, including modifications to Ring Diameter Corrugated Pipe (RDCP) and Ring Angle Corrugated Pipe (RACP), were analyzed to assess their influence on flow field and heat transfer characteristics in three-dimensional tubes. Investigation focused on the thermo-fluid properties of each configuration, including local temperature, velocity profiles, streamlines, and Nusselt number, with comparisons made to a conventional tube. The study covered a range of Reynolds numbers (Re = 4000 to 12,000), and numerical simulations were conducted using the k-ε turbulent model. The results indicate that higher values of CRS, RDCP, and RACP contribute to an increased heat transfer rate in the corrugated tube configuration, though this improvement is accompanied by a notable rise in the friction factor. The performance enhancement factor (PEF) for the corrugated tube configurations was found to fluctuate between 1.2 and 1.7 across different scenarios. The differences in Nu number compared for RACP to the smooth pipe at Re = 12,000 are approximately 16%, 26%, and 45%.