Improving the Performance of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger by Utilizing Helical Finned Tubes: Experimental and Numerical Analysis
Esam JASSIM, Lingala Syam SUNDAR, Bashar JASEM
Abstract. The MgO/water nanofluids passing through the inner tubes of shell and tube heat exchangers (STHE) is examined in this work. The analysis addresses the effects of MgO on hydrodynamic behavior using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling with ANSYS FLUENT. Purpose of this study is to use MgO/water nanofluids to improve convective heat transfer while no significantly increasing pressure drop. CFD simulations were conducted at 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1.0% vol. and at mass flow rate ranging from 0.2 kg/s to 1.3 kg/s. Analyses are further extended by providing fins over the inner tube of the STHE. Experimentally obtained results are validated with the computational fluid dynamic software results. Finned tubes improve drastically the heat transfer coefficient and overall efficiency, shown by the comparison of standard and helical finned tube shapes. The accuracy of the CFD model with a minimal mean absolute error (MAE) was confirmed by validation findings that demonstrated strong agreement between experimental and numerical data. These results show how helical finned tubes can be used to create industrial heat exchangers with great efficiency.
Keywords
Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger, Helical Finned Tubes, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Thermal Efficiency, Experimental Validation
Published online 4/25/2026, 8 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Esam JASSIM, Lingala Syam SUNDAR, Bashar JASEM, Improving the Performance of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger by Utilizing Helical Finned Tubes: Experimental and Numerical Analysis, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 64, pp 896-903, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904091-111
The article was published as article 111 of the book Energy Futures
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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