Kukulka D., Smith R., 2016, Comparison of Heat Exchanger Designs Using Vipertex 1EHT Enhanced Heat Transfer Tubes, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 52, 115-120.
A numeric study was performed that compares the performance of heat exchangers using the Vipertex 1EHT enhanced heat transfer tubes to the performance of heat exchangers that use smooth surface tubes. Heat transfer enhancement is an important factor in obtaining energy efficiency improvements in all heat transfer applications. Surface enhancement of the 1EHT tube is accomplished through the use of the primary dimple enhancement and the secondary background pattern made up of petal arrays. Utilization of enhanced heat transfer tubes is an effective method that is utilized in the development of high performance thermal systems. Vipertex™ enhanced surfaces, have been designed and produced through material surface modifications that produce flow optimized heat transfer tubes that increase heat transfer. Current energy demands and the desire to increase efficiencies of systems have prompted the development of enhanced heat transfer surfaces. Enhanced heat transfer tubes are widely used in many areas (refrigeration, air-conditioning, petro-chemical, chemical, etc.) in order to reduce cost and create a smaller application footprint. A new type of enhanced heat transfer tube has been created; therefore it is important to investigate relevant heat exchanger designs using the Vipertex 1EHT enhanced surface tube in industrial applications and compare that performance to other tubes. Results include design characteristics and performance predictions using the design simulations produced using HTRI Exchanger Suite (2016). Performance for all cases considered using the 1EHT tube predicted over performance when compared to a smooth tube design. Vipertex 1EHT tubes produced higher performance and more efficient designs.
