The Effect of Twisted Tape Width on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop for Fully Developed Laminar Flow

A series of experiments was conducted to study the effect of twisted-tape width on the heat transfer and pressure drop with laminar flow in tubes. Data for three twisted-tape wave lengths each with five different widths have been collected with constant wall temperature boundary condition. Correlations for the friction factor and Nusselt number are also available. The correlations predict the experimental data to within 10 % to 15 % for the heat transfer and friction factor, respectively. The presence of the twisted tape has caused the friction factor to increase by a factor of 3 to 7 depending on Reynolds number and the twisted-tape geometry. Heat-transfer results have shown an increase of 1.5 to 3 times that of plain tubes depending on the flow conditions and the twisted-tape geometry. The width shows no effect on friction factor and heat transfer in the low range of Reynolds number but have a more pronounced effect on heat transfer at the higher range of Reynolds number. It is recommended to use a loose-fit tapes for low Reynolds number flows instead of tight-fit in the design of heat exchangers because they are easier to install and remove for cleaning purposes.