Computational Fluid Dynamics and Numerical Simulation of Compact Size Triple Steel Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger

The heat exchanger plays a crucial role in various industries, to decrease the energy consumption rate by increased heat transfer rate through heat exchanger. Heat exchanger increases the efficiency and performance of system. In industry, the tube in tube heat exchangers are used as condensers, vaporizers, sub-coolers, heat recovery exchangers, crystallizers etc. In this research work, to enhance the efficiency and performance of heat exchanger, a triple tube heat exchanger was modeled and numerical simulation has been done for the analysis of performance and efficiency. This triple tube heat exchanger is an updated and modified variant of conventional modified double tube heat exchanger. The triple tube heat exchanger is made up of three different diameters of tubes and all three tubes are arranged in concentric way. In this, cold or normal water flows in most outer and inner tube while hot water is flowing through a middle pipe. The triple tube heat exchanger was analyzed at various different mass flow rate and temperature of hot water. The model of triple tube heat exchanger was prepared and analyzed in Ansys Fluent and numerical simulation was also done and verified the results. In this type of heat exchanger maximum area of middle hot water flowing pipe is in contact with both inner and outer normal water flowing pipe, it provides maximum area for transfer of heat and gives maximum heat transfer rate and performance instead of double pipe heat exchanger. The results of both numerical and software simulation of triple tube heat exchanger shows the increased rate of heat transfer coefficient in compact size of heat exchanger. The triple tube heat exchanger gives better performance as compare to convention double tube heat exchanger.