Investigation of the Impact of Porous Structure Geometry and Flow Characteristics on Heat Transfer Effectiveness in a Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

Authors : Mahir Şahin, Mustafa Kılıç, Murat Gökçek

Pages : 201-210

Doi:10.46460/ijiea.1803466

View : 44 | Download : 133

Publication Date : 2025-12-29

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The present study investigates the effects of Reynolds number, fluid inlet temperature, porosity ratio, and porous thickness on the heat transfer effectiveness of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger operating under laminar flow conditions. The primary objective of the study is to determine how these parameters influence thermal performance and to establish a clear understanding of their roles in enhancing heat transfer effectiveness. The investigated parameters are Reynolds numbers of 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000; inlet temperatures of 25°C, 30°C, 35°C, and 40°C; porosity ratios of 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, and 0.9; and porous thicknesses of 5/80, 10/80, 15/80, and 20/80. Numerical model validated by experimental data shows that at Re = 1000, the heat transfer effectiveness of pure water at 40°C is 1.1% higher than that at 25°C, while this difference increases to 1.9% at Re = 4000. When the inlet temperature is raised from 25°C to 40°C, the average enhancement in effectiveness is 1.7% for each Re value. At constant inlet temperature, increasing the Reynolds number from 1000 to 4000 improves the heat transfer effectiveness by 12.8%. The results confirm that heat transfer effectiveness (ε) increases with fluid inlet temperature across all Re values. Furthermore, at Re = 1000, a porosity ratio of Φ = 0.9 yields 1.3% higher effectiveness compared to 0.5 at the same temperature. Similarly, for porous thickness L/D (porous thickness/pipe diameter), a structure with 20/80 provides 2.2% higher effectiveness than 5/80 under identical conditions. These findings demonstrate that optimizing porosity and porous thickness, along with flow and temperature parameters, can significantly enhance heat transfer performance. The results indicate that shell-and-tube heat exchangers with porous inserts can be designed to achieve higher thermal effectiveness and improved energy efficiency in future applications.
Keywords : Re sayısı, gözenekli yapı, ısı değiştiricisi, akışkan akımı

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