835 PAWAR et al: REVIEW OF HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH HELICAL COILS OF CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION Journal of Scientific &

Industrial Research
Vol. 70, October 2011, pp. 835-843
*Author for correspondence
E-mail: sspawar_ltcoe@yahoo.co.in
A critical review of heat transfer through helical coils of circular cross section
S S Pawar
1*
, Vivek K Sunnapwar
1
and B A Mujawar
2
1
Lokmanya Tilak College of Engineering, Navi Mumbai 400 709, India
2
Shri Pandurang Pratishtan, Karmayogi Engineering College, Tal. Pandharpur, Dist. Solapur 413 304, India
Received 17 January 2011; 16 August 2011; accepted 19 August 2011
Heat transfer enhancement techniques [active techniques (electric field, acoustic or surface vibration, etc.) and passive
techniques (fluid additives or special surface geometries)] can improve performance of heat exchangers to perform a certain heat
transfer duty. Curved tubes have been used as one of the passive heat transfer enhancement techniques and are most widely used
tubes in several heat transfer applications. This paper reviews heat transfer through helical coil of circular cross sections in terms
of different dimensionless numbers, their validity, and effect of geometry, friction factors, different coil curvature ratios, fluid
types, laminar and turbulent flow on heat transfer rate.
Keywords: Curved tubes, Friction factor, Helical coil, Laminar flow, Turbulent flow
Introduction
Heat exchangers are commonly used for heat
transfer (HT) between two or more fluids of different
temperatures in refrigeration & air-conditioning systems,
heat recovery processes, chemical reactors, food & dairy
processes, power engineering and other thermal
processing plants. Due to their compact structure and
high HT coefficient, curved tubes as one of the passive
HT enhancement techniques are widely used in various
industrial applications. Helical coils of circular cross
section have been used in a wide variety of applications
due to simplicity in manufacturing. This paper reviews
research on HT in helical coil of circular cross section
and single phase flow.
Review of Experimental Works
Due to curvature of tubes, as fluid flows through
curved tubes, centrifugal force is generated. A secondary
flow induced by centrifugal force has significant ability
to enhance HT rate. Kalb & Seader
1
studied entrance
region HT to gases flowing in a uniform wall temperature
in helical coil of aspect ratio 15 for turbulent to laminar
flow [Reynolds (Re) number (He, 1610; air, 2520-12800)
and Prandtl (Pr) number (He, 0.67; air, 0.71)] and thus
developed a novel gradient method based on
measurement of the wall internal and external surface-
temperature distributions for design or rating of the entire
coil for fully developed HT. Manafzadeh et al
2
examined
experimentally mechanism of Nusselt (Nu) number
oscillation at the junction of a straight and helical tube.
Experiments were carried out for a range of Dean number
using distilled water and geometry showed a 50%
increase of Nusselt number over that for the helical coil.
It was also shown that Nu number enhancement could
be achieved in heat exchanger coils for laminar flow by
variations in pipe curvature, which exploit thin boundary
layers created at the onset of a secondary flow
development.
Austen & Soliman
3
studied influence of pitch on
pressure drop and HT characteristics of helical coil [Two
pairs of coils (D/d = 29 and 49) were tested for laminar
flow and for h/d = 60, h/D = 2.07, 50 < Re < 7000, 3 < Pr
< 6, 300 < Gr < 5800] explored for the condition of uniform
input heat flux. Significant pitch effects, noted in friction
factor and Nu number results at low Re number, were
attained to free convection and diminish as Re number
increases. Enhancements in the values of friction factor
and Nu number were noted in the region where coil pitch
had an influence. Prasad et al
4
performed experiments
for determining pressure drop, HT characteristics and
performance of a helical coil heat exchange device and
the following correlations were recommended for the
836 J SCI IND RES VOL 70 OCTOBER 2011
purpose of designing such an exchanger: i) Tube side
(1780 < Re < 59500) [a) laminar regime, f =
d Re
64
{1- [1-
(
Dn
B
)
0. 45
]
2. 22
}
-1
, Nu = A (
8
f
Red
2
)
1/ 3
Pr
1/ 3
, where
B = 11.6 for 10 < Dn < 500, B= 6.0 for 500 < Dn < 1500,
A= 0.25 for 200 < Dn < 500; b) turbulent regime
(modified Itos correlation), f / fs = 1+ 0.18{Re (d/D)
2
}
0.25
,
Nu =
8
f
. Re]; and ii) Shell side (3.6 x 10
4
< Re < 1.5 x
10
5
) [f = 0.74
25 . 0
Re

Dh
for
d
D
= 17.24, = 1.24
25 . 0
Re

Dh
for
d
D
= 34.90, and Nu = 0.057
8 . 0
Re
Dh
for
d
D
= 17.24 and
Nu = 0.110
8 . 0
Re
Dh
for
d
D
= 34.9]. Aspect ratios were
taken as 17.24 and 34.90 for both laminar and turbulent
flow. Excellent agreement of performance evaluations
for simulation experiments and in situ experiments in
gas turbine exhaust duct indicated utility of these
correlations.
Ali
5
studied on turbulent natural convection HT from
vertical two sets of helical coils (Pr number, 3.44 Pr
5.30) [first set of coils (aspect ratios, 20.792, 13.923,
9.941) and second set of coils (aspect ratios, 19.957,
9.941] to water. Correlation covering first set of coils
was developed as Nul = 0.685 (Ral)
0.295
for d
o
= 0.012 m
and 3 x 10
12
Ra
L
8 x 10
14
, which resulted in a slight
decrease in HT coefficient with coil length for the same
diameter ratio. Correlation covering second set of coils
was developed as Nul = 0.00044 (Ral)
0.516
for d
o
= 0.008
m and 6 x 10
11
Ra
L
1 x 10
14
, which showed an abrupt
increase in HT coefficient. Maximum HT coefficient
for first set of coils (d
o
= 0.012 m) was obtained at critical
diameter ratio of 14.4 when number of coil turns were 5
and this ratio was 13.0 when number of coil turns were
10. Experiments based on above correlations are
applicable for low range of Pr number and limited coil
tube diameters. It is further necessary to fix minimum
number of helical coil turns required for maximum HT
coefficient as the same liquid rises from the lowest to
highest turns successively, thereby reducing effectiveness
of upper turns. Rao
6
measured full developed turbulent
Fanning friction factors and Nu numbers for purely
viscous power-law non-Newtonian fluids in helical coils
and following improved correlation was proposed to
predict turbulent friction factor for power-law fluids in
coils (for 20,000 < Re* < 50,000, 0.76 n 1, 10 D/d
i
26):
4 . 0
n f = *) (Re 079 . 0 {
4
1
+ [(d
i
/D)
1.5
/14]}. Based
on experimental results, following correlation was
proposed for predicting turbulent Nu number for
power-law fluids in helical coils:
25 . 1 15 . 1
] 45 . 0 55 . 0 [ )] / ( 9 . 2 1 [

+ + = n D di
Nus
Nuc
for
9000<Re*<55000 & 10< D/d
i
< 30. This equation fits
HT results within 2% for 25000 Re* 50000 and
0.76 n 1. Rao
6
found that the ratio [(Nuc/Nus)/(fc/
fs)] was about unity, suggesting that other than space
saving, helical coils did not offer any advantages over a
straight tube for heat-exchanger applications involving
turbulent flow of power-law non-Newtonian fluids. These
correlations are applicable for turbulent flow and power-
law fluids only and do not reduce correlation for
Newtonian fluids; hence these are applicable for limited
industrial applications. Mokrani et al
7
found relative
enhancement of chaotic heat advection (13-27%) for
low Re numbers (60-200) and an increase (6-8%) of
inner HT coefficient at high Re numbers (3000-10,000).
Coils were assembled from 90 bends, and chaotic coil
was produced merely by turning each bend at a 90
with respect to previous one.
Ali
8
showed that correlation covering natural
convection regime of coils in horizontal orientation in air
for all heat fluxes is given as Nud = a Ra
b
, where a and
b are constants corresponding to each heat flux in laminar
region. Correlation for all heat fluxes for all coils (four
coils of aspect ratios as 23.94, 23.94, 16.45 & 16.45)
using horizontal coil axis distance as a characteristics
length was presented as Nux=0.9125 Rax
0.301
, which
results in a decrease in HT coefficient with horizontal
coil axis distance indicating a laminar region in the whole
range. Devanahalli et al
9
studied natural convection HT
from helical coiled tubes (Re number, 12000-27000) (four
coil sets of aspect ratios as 19.3, 19.3, 15.03 & 15.03
with different pitches as 47.4, 15.8, 13.5 & 40.5 mm) in
water for turbulent flow. Nu number was correlated to
Ra number using different characteristic lengths as Nu
= a (Ra)
b
, using power law equation. Developed models
were used to develop a prediction model to predict outlet
temperature of a fluid flowing through a helically coiled
heat exchanger. Timothy et al
10
performed an
experimental study of a double pipe helical heat exchanger,
and found increase in Nu number significantly in the
entrance region and also HT rates were higher in counter
flow configuration. Naphon
11
studied thermal
performance and pressure drop of a helical coil heat
exchanger (aspect ratio, 13.368-20.73) with and without
helically crimped fins, and found an average HT rate
837 PAWAR et al: REVIEW OF HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH HELICAL COILS OF CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION
increase as hot and cold water mass flow rates increases.
Friction factor decreases with increasing hot water mass
flow rate. Inlet hot and cold water mass flow rates and
inlet hot water temperature had significant effect on heat
exchanger effectiveness. No correlation was proposed
based on experimental results and study is limited to low
temperature range. Critical assessment is also given in
other studies
12-21
(Table 1).
Havas et al
22
studied HT coefficients to helical coils
in agitated vessels for Newtonian liquids. A modified Re
number was introduced into HT equation as
Nu = 0.187Re
o
0.688
Pr
0.36
Vis
0.11
(d/D)
0.62
, and concluded
that effect of baffles on HT transfer rate was
insignificant. Van Decker et al
23
provided a coil on tube
heat exchanger that uses multiple parallel helical coil tubes
to limit liquid pressure losses while providing similar
performance and production times to previous coil and
tube designs. Coronel & Sandeep
24
conducted
experiments in helical heat exchangers, with coils of two
different curvature ratios (d/D = 0.114 & 0.078), and in
straight tubular heat exchangers at various flow rates
(1.89 x 10
-4
-6.31 x 10
-4
m
3
/s) and for different end point
temperatures (92-149C). The inside (h
i
) and outside
(h
o
) convective HT coefficients were determined based
on overall HT coefficient and a correlation to compute
the inside convective HT coefficient (h
i
) as a function
of N
Re
, N
Pr
, and d/D was developed as
Nui
N =
4 . 0
Pr
85 . 0
Re
099 . 0
) / ( 0302 . 0 N N D d for 5 x 10
4
< N
Re
< 3 x
10
5
, where 2.0 < N
Pr
< 3.5 and 0.078 < d/D < 0.114.
Proposed correlation is applicable only for heat transfer
under non-isothermal conditions where heat flux is not
Table 1Experimental studies
12-21
on heat transfer through helical coils
Author D/d=1/ N
Re
N
Pr
Remarks
Jeschke
12
6.1, 18.2 150,000 0.7 (N
Nu
)

(

N
Pr
)
-0.4
= 0.045(1+(3.54/)) ( N
Re
)
0.76
The work was for a limited range of parameters.
White
13
15.15, 50, 15,000-100,000 7 = fc 0.08N
Re
-1/4
+ 0.012/ . Heat transfer coefficient may be
2050 predicted from fluid friction data.
Kirpikov
14
10, 13, 18 10,000-45,000 7 (N
Nu
)

(

N
Pr
)
-0.4
= 0.0456 ( N
Re
)
0.85
()
0.21
Heat transfer coefficient was obtained using the wall to bulk
temperature difference.
Ito
15
16.4, 40, 2,000-400,000 7 Proposed an empirical equation for the critical Re number,N
Recr
100, 250, 648 = 2x10
4
()
0.32
Seban & 17, 104 6,000-65,000 2.9- (N
Nu
)

(

N
Pr
)
-0.4
= 0.023 (N
Re
)
0.85
()
0.1
McLaughlin
16
657 For turbulent flow the results for heat transfer coefficient were
simplified and average heat transfer coefficients for the
periphery was predicted more accurately using friction factors
for curved tubes.
Rogers & Mayhew
17
10.8, 13.3, 3,000-50,000 7 N
Nu
=

0.021

(N
Re
)
0.85
(

N
Pr
)
0.4
()
0.1
20.12 Non isothermal friction factors and heat transfer coefficients
were estimated & were recommended for design purpose.
Schmidt
18
The empirical formula presented as :
N
Nufd
/ N
Nus
= 1.0 + 3.6(1- )
0.8
where
N
Nus
= 0.023 N
Re

0.8
Npr
0.4
Shchukin
19
6.2-104 N
Rec
<N
Re
<67,000 7 N
Nu
= 0.0266[N
Re
0.85
/
0.15
+0.225
1.55
] Npr
0.4
Yamamoto 0.01, 0.05 and 500-20,000 7 As torsion parameter increases at fixed curvature and Reynolds
et al
20
0.1 number, the friction factor deviates from that of a toroidal tube
& decreases toward straight tube. The friction formula valid for
the toroidal pipe can be applied for the helical pipe only when
torsion parameter and curvature ratio are small.
Cioncolini & 6.9-369 2,900 16,000 7 Coil curvature was found effective in smoothing the emergence
Santini
21
of turbulence. Criterion for predicting turbulence emergence in
coiled pipes was proposed for different curvature ratios.
N
Re
, Reynold number; N
Pr
, Prandtl number
838 J SCI IND RES VOL 70 OCTOBER 2011
constant and for limited ranges of Pr number but
applicable for higher range of Re number in turbulent
flow region. Prabhanjan et al
25
showed that HT
coefficient was affected by the geometry of heat
exchanger and temperature of water bath surrounding
heat exchanger. Experimental model for the parameters
measured or calculated y was designed as y
yk
= +
i
+

j
+ z
k
+ ()
ij
+ (z)
ik
+ (z)
jk
+
ijk
, where , and z
are the main effects of coil type, bath temperature, and
flow rate. The is experimental error. experiment was
conducted for D/d = 12.929 and Re = 8300-41400 for
coil and 7700-38300 for flows in straight pipe. Developed
model is not applicable to laminar flow and pitch other
than zero as per experimental conditions.
Aravind et al
26
studied HT to the coolant in a helical
coil for water, soap solutions and carboxyl methyl cellulose
(CMC) solutions, and found that overall HT coefficients
for soap and CMC were below that of water. Liou
27
investigated flow patterns in helical coiled tubes with
various torsion-tocurvature ratios and Re number using
laser light-sheet flow visualization and LDV
measurement. The results obtained in his work agreed
well with predicted previously. Chavez et al
28
observed
that internal convection HT coefficient was correlated
within 9.5% in terms of power-law relations as
67 . 0 29 . 0 54 . 1
Re 2 0003 . 0 P D Nu =
. Correlation was valid
for 7,100 < Re < 19,000, 0.033 < D < 0.061, 0.255 < P <
0.359. Inaba et al
29
derived two correlations for
predicting friction factors and average Nu numbers of
ODEAO nonionic surfactant solution flowing through
helically coiled pipe with standard deviation of 5 and
9.5% respectively as
5 . 1 11 . 0 42 . 0
' 17 . 0 Tc Cc Dn
f s
f s
L
=
and
3 / 1 5 . 0 36 . 0 10 . 0
Pr' ' 68 . 0 Dn Tc Cc Nu

=
for Tc = 1-1.065,
Cc = 1.5-3.5 and Dn from 100 up to Dn' value at
critical wall shear stress. Ghorbani et al
30
studied mixed
convection HT in a coil-in-shell heat exchanger for
various Re numbers, various tube-to-coil diameter ratios
and different dimensionless coil pitch for both laminar
and turbulent flow inside coil, and indicated that equivalent
diameter of shell was the best characteristic length.
Kwanchanok & Somchai
31
studied HT characteristics
in dry surface conditions of helically coiled finned tube
heat exchanger. Air-side HT coefficient presented in
term of Colburn J factor was found proportional to inlet-
water temperature and water mass flow rate. Also, it
was found that heat exchanger effectiveness tends to
increase with increasing water mass flow rate and slightly
increases with increasing inlet water temperature.
Ali
32
while studying on steady-state natural
convection HT from vertical helical coil tubes in HT oil
of a Pr number (250-400) developed three overall
empirical correlations using coil length as a
characteristic length as
3 . 0
619 . 0
L L
Ra Nu = for 4.37 x
10
10
Ra
L
5.5 x 10
14
and 10.00
o
d
D
30.00,
314 . 0 301 . 0
Pr 555 . 0
L L
Gr Nu = for 1 x 10
8
Gr
L
5 x 10
14
and
294 . 0
714 . 0
L L
Ra Nu = for 4.35 x 10
10
Ra
L
8 x
10
14
. Ali
32
found that average HT coefficient increases
as coil number of turns decrease for a fixed diameter
ratio. In this study, it is further necessary to fix minimum
number of turns of coils for maximum HT. Gupta et al
33
reported on pressure drop measurements for fully
developed, incompressible Newtonian fluid flowing
through helical coils of constant circular cross section
under laminar flow conditions, and developed two
correlations in terms of Germano number as
) 903 . 0 1 (
227 . 0
Gn s c
N f f + = for N
Gn
70 and
) 525 . 0 1 (
516 . 0
Gn s c
N f f + = for N
Gn
> 70. These
correlations were found within 10% for experimental
data (1 < N
Gn
< 130) and for literature data within
15%. Experimental work was carried out on helical coils
under turbulent flow conditions (d/D = 0.08, Re = 5788-
16177, mass flow rates of water, 0.03179-0.08884 kg/s)
and was compared with reported
34
convective HT
coefficient in straight tube heat exchanger. Mujawar &
Rao
35
studied on isothermal frictional pressure drop for
flow of water and several pseudoplastic polymer
solutions in helical coils (curvature ratios, 0.0476, 0.0198
& 0.010), and proposed suitable correlation for friction
factors in coiled tubes for the range (35 De 2200);
(0.0100 (a/R) 0.0695 as
36 . 0
) ( 26 . 0 De
f
f
s
c
=
.
Criterion for laminar flow in coiled tubes for Newtonian
and non-Newtonian fluids was given by new
dimensionless number, M, as
2100
Re,
'

=
mc
c
R
a
gen
M
.
For Newtonian fluids, this equation was further simplified
as
2100
) / ( 26 . 0
[Re]
18 . 0
64 . 0

R a
. Suryanarayanan et al
3 6
reported vessel inside and coil outside film HT
coefficients of water and dilute SCMC and SA solutions
in turbine-agitated vessel for standard and nonstandard
vessel configurations with agitator diameter, depth of
agitation, helix diameter, and coiled tube outside diameter
'
839 PAWAR et al: REVIEW OF HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH HELICAL COILS OF CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION
as parameters. Jacket-and coil-side HT results were
correlated as
(std dev = 7.8%)
45 . 0 29 . 0 13 . 0 17 . 0
33 . 0 66 . 0
) (Pr' ) (Re' 21 . 0

=
t
o
t
c
t
a
t
a
c
D
d
D
D
D
H
D
D
Nu
(std dev = 7.1%)
Above correlations could be used for limited range
of Re = 200-21,700, Pr = 49-1220, n = 0.47-1.0 and K
= 1.24 x 10
-3
-100 x 10
-3
. These correlations are developed
on various agitator speed but not developed based on
effects of agitator blade types on HT rate.
Review of Numerical and Computational Flow
Dynamics (CFD) works
John et al
37
numerically investigated Navier-stokes
equation for momentum and energy equations used for
the geometry depicted for curvature ratio (3-30) for
laminar flow and Re number was limited to 1723 and Pr
number range 0.01 to 10, and results were correlated
within 3% as
fs
fc
= 1.0 + [8.279 x 10
-4
+

3
10 964 . 7

]
Re 2.096 x 10
-7
Re
2
, which can be used in the range of
20< Dn < 500 and 3 < < 30. Results for asymptotic Nu
number were compared with experimental work of Dravid
et al
38
and with that of Kaib & Seader
39
. For Pr < 5,
results were found in good agreement with Kalb &
Seader
39
and their limiting Nu number correlations were
recommended. Kumar & Nigam
40
introduced a new
device based on the flow inversions by changing direction
of centrifugal force in helically coiled tubes (curvature
ratio, 10; Re number, 25-1200; and Pr number, 0.74-150).
Complete flow fields and thermal fields in helical coil
and bent coil configuration were studied using CFD
software (FLUENT 6.0). Three dimensional governing
equation for momentum and energy under laminar flow
conditions were solved with a control volume finite
difference method (CVFDM) with second order
accuracy. Bent coil configuration showed a 20-30%
enhancement in HT due to chaotic mixing while relative
pressure drop was found as 5-6%. Timothy et al
41
studied
double-pipe helical heat exchanger to determine effects
of thermally dependent viscosity and non-Newtonian
flows on HT and pressure drop for laminar flow (D/d =
16, Re = 250-2650) in inner tube and in annulus. The
data were correlated as Nu = c
1
Pe
C2
(
R
Di Do
2

)
C3
+ c
4
.
The values of c
1
-c
4
were obtained for different values
of flow behavior index as 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.5. Kumar
& Nigam
42
studied convective HT in chaotic
configuration of circular cross-section under laminar flow
(D/d = 10, 7 < De < 400 and 0.7 < Pr < 150)) regime at
different values of Dean number and Pr number. Chaotic
configuration showed a 25-36% enhancement in HT due
to chaotic mixing while relative pressure drop was 5-
6%. Under heating condition (temperature-dependent
viscosity), HT was found higher in case of chaotic
configuration as compared to the cooling condition
(constant viscosity).
Conte & Peng
43
performed computer simulations for
four rectangular coiled pipes with different angles of
straight tube inclination (90, 15, 30 & 45) at different
inlet velocities (Re = 300, 700 & 1400), and better HT
performance was observed for the coil with smaller angle
of straight tube inclination. Mridha & Nigam
4 4
investigated turbulent forced convection in a new device
of coiled flow inverter and found 4-13% enhancement in
HT as compared to straight helical coil while relative
pressure drop was found to be 2-9%. Further, gain in
HT in coiled flow inverter for turbulent flow condition as
compared to straight tube for same flow rate and
boundary condition was 35-45% while increase in
pressure drop found 29-30%. Pressure drop increases
input pumping power and hence attempt should be made
to reduce it. Mridha & Nigam
44
cited numerical studies
in precise manner but all these studies are applicable for
limited range of parameters and conditions
(Table 2). Zachar
49
studied steady HT enhancement in
helically coiled-tube heat exchangers with spirally
corrugated wall in laminar and transitional flow regimes,
and showed 80-100% increase for inner side HT rate
due to additionally developed swirling motion while
relative pressure drop was 10-600% larger compared
to the common helically coiled heat exchangers. A
new empirical correlation was proposed for fully
developed inner side HT prediction in case of
helically corrugated wall configuration
as
192 . 0 166 . 0 408 . 0 6688 . 0
) ( ) ( Pr 5855 . 0

=
d
p
d
h
De Nu
for 30
< De < 1400 and 3 < Pr < 30.
Jayakumar et al
50
carried out CFD simulations for
vertically oriented helical coils by varying coil parameters
(pitch circle diameter, tube pitch and pipe diameter) and
their influence on HT, and developed correlations for
the prediction of Nu number as Nu = 265.65()
0.11
in
35 . 0 21 . 0 09 . 0 14 . 0
33 . 0 63 . 0
) (Pr' ) (Re' 22 . 0

=
t
o
t
c
t
a
t
a
j
D
d
D
D
D
H
D
D
Nu
' ' '
'
840 J SCI IND RES VOL 70 OCTOBER 2011
terms of curvature ratio;
11 . 0 4 . 0 71 . 0
Pr Re 116 . 0 = Nu
in terms of Re and Pr numbers for 14,000 < Re < 70,000,
3000 < De < 22,000, 3.0 < Pr < 5.0 and 0.05 < < 0.2;
1 . 0 4 . 0 74 . 0
Pr 085 . 0 De Nu =

in terms of De and Pr
numbers;

Nu
loc
= Nu
av
(-2.411e - 05j
2
+ 8.692e - 03j+ 0.4215)
for constant wall temp b & c; and Nu
loc
= Nu
av
(-2.311e
- 05
2
+ 8.424e - 03 + 0.4576) for constant heat flux b
& c. Developed correlations are applicable in turbulent
region but for very low range of Pr number. Nakayama
et at
51
proposed an axisymmetric numerical solution
procedure to analyze conjugate problems associated with
cooling and heating the fluid flowing through helically
coiled tubes. One-dimensional HT model proposed for
a single-phase flow in a coiled tube had been modified
and extended for the cases of boiling two-phase flow in
a coiled tube. Numerical results obtained for both thermal
systems with coiled tubes were agreed well with
corresponding experimental data. Hessam et al
52
found
that coil pitch had significant effect on shell-side HT
coefficient and HT coefficient decreases by increasing
tube diameter for the same dimensionless coil pitch.
Hessam et al
52
proposed correlation with a correlation
coefficient better than 0.8 for the range 8.1x10
6
< Ra
Ln
<
2.2x10
8
and 40 < Re
Ln
< 205 as
231 . 0 15 . 0 005 . 0 769 . 0
Pr Re ) ( 073 . 0
Ln Ln Ln
c
t
Ln
Ra
D
D
Nu

=
. This
claim is opposite in case of vertical helical as proved by
Jayakumar et al
50
. Zheng et al
53
studied combined
convection and thermal radiation HT in three-dimensional
laminar flow through a helical pipe with finite pitch
simulated with CVFDM method. Thermal radiation had
no significant influence for flow and temperature fields,
especially in a fully developed region but it substantially
enhanced total HT in helical pipe. Ko
54
study on laminar
forced convection and entropy generation in a helical coil
(Re number, 1,000-7,500; Pr number for water, 5.98; wall
heat fluxes, 160, 320 & 640 W/m
2
) suggested optimal Re
number to be chosen as the flow operating condition so
that thermal system could have the least irreversibility
and best energy utilization. No correlation was developed
and the study is limited for only one value of Pr number.
Table 2 Numerical studies
45-48
on heat transfer through helical coils
Author 1/ (= D/d) N
Re
N
Pr
Remarks
Yang & Ebadian
45
40 20,000-50,000 0.7,5 The rotation and distortion of temperature contours of funny
developed turbulent forced convection in the cross-section is
because of effect of torsion. It was also found that the torsion
effect increased with the increase in fluid axial flow rate.
Lin & Ebadian
46
20-40 25,000 7 The pitch, curvature ratio and Reynolds number influenced the
100,000 development of thermal fluids in fluid with turbulent flow. The
development of Nusselt number was found to be oscillatory
before it was fully developed. The oscillation phenomenon
increased with increase of pitch, curvature ratio and Reynolds
number.
Huttl & Friedrich
47
0.1 6,926 0.7 It is shown that pipe curvature, which induces a secondary flow,
has a strong effect on the flow quantities. Turbulence is
significantly inhibited by streamline curvature & the flow almost
relaminarizes for high values of the curvature parameter.
Although the torsion effect is weaker than the curvature effect
but it cannot be neglected. It influences the secondary flow
induced by pure curvature & leads to an increase in fluctuating
kinetic energy and dissipation rate.
Zheng et al
48
20 10,000 0.7 An interaction phenomenon between turbulent forced
convection 100,000 and thermal radiation of an absorbing emitting gas in a curved
pipe at different temperature ratio, optical thickness & Wall
emissivity was studied. There was no influence of thermal
radiation participating medium was considered. The Nusselt
number was affected by the wall emissivity.
N
Re
, Reynold number; N
Pr
, Prandtl number
841 PAWAR et al: REVIEW OF HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH HELICAL COILS OF CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION
Review of Theoretical Works
Simon et al
55
shown theoretically enhancement of
HT performance beyond that normally achieved in
curved tube flows was demonstrated for pulsatile flows
(20%) and for developing flows (60%). Shokouhmand
& Salimpour
56
studied fully developed laminar flow and
HT in a helically coiled tube (D/d = 100-3.33, Re
opt
=
2000-14000 for air and 5000-15000 for water) with
uniform wall temperature based on minimum entropy
generation, and developed a correlation for air (av error
2.15%) as Re
opt
= 2100
1
-0.45
(
2
/10
-10
)
-0.53

-0.19
and for
water (av error 0.69%) as Re
opt
= 1790
1
-0.05
(
2
/10
-10
)
-0.53

-0.02
. Correlations were developed with (0.01-0.3),

1
(air, 1-20; water, 0.1-2), and
2
/10
-10
(0.01-0.2 for
each case) using least square analysis. This accuracy
claimed is further required to check by experimental or
numerical analysis. Seth & Stahel
57
felt desirable
following work in the area of HT: i) to obtain generalized
correlation for h
oc
using extensive available data with
numerical and computer techniques; and (ii) to study the
effect of geometry of coil on h
ic
and to attempt to correlate
and verify suggested approach, additional experimental
data are necessary. Presently, most of the correlations
are available in Nu number and rarely in h
ic,
h
oc
as outside
HT coefficient is constant for given set of conditions
and h
ic
can be calculated from Nu number.
Review of Experimental and Theoretical Works
Rajasekharan et al
58
presented data on isothermal
pressure drop and HT to non-Newtonian fluids (both
pseudo plastic and dilatants) for different aspect ratios
(10.31, 27.02 & 47.62) of helical and spiral coils (Re
number 800-9000 & Pr number 10-100) for laminar as
well as turbulent flow at constant tube wall temperature
conditions. A correlation, developed for Nu number as
N
Nu
= [1.98 + 1.8 (Di/Dc)] [
7 . 0 7 . 0
]
4
1 3
GZ
n
N
n
n +
,
represented for Newtonian fluids within 10% and found
that friction factors and HT coefficients for non-
Newtonian fluids in coiled pipes were higher than those
for straight pipes and were affected by curvature ratio
and flow behavior index. Mori & Nakayama
59, 60
developed following correlations (D/d = 18.7 & 40,
Re = 10,000-200,000): for N
Pr
1, N
Nu
= (N
Pr
/26.2 (N
Pr
2/
3
- 0.074


) N
Re
4/5
()
1/10
x [1+(0.098/ {N
Re
()
2
}
1/5
]; and
for N
Pr >
1, N
Nu
N
Pr
-0.4
= (1/41.0) N
Re
5/6
()
1/12
x [1+ (0.061
/ {N
Re
()
2.5
}
1/6
]. In first order approximation, HT in a
curved pipe doesnt differ for uniform wall temperature
or uniform heat flux in both laminar and turbulent regions.
These correlations are most commonly used and gives
acceptable results for large range of Re and Pr number.
Review of Experimental, Numerical and CFD
Works
Janssen & Hoogendoorn
61
studied HT flow behavior
in helical coiled tubes (aspect ratio, 10-100; Re number,
20-4000; and Pr number, 10-500) in case of laminar flow.
For thermal entry region, an empirical equation was
derived as Nu
z
= (0.32 + 3d/D) Re
0.5
Pr
0.33
x (d/Z)
0.14+0.8d/D
for 20 < Dn < 8.3 x 10
2
; 30 < Pr < 4.5 x 10
2
and 1 x 10
-2
< d/D < 8 x 10
-2
. For fully developed thermal region, Nu
= 0.43(fRe
2
)
0.26
Pr
1.6
for 20 < Dn < 8.3 x 10
2
; 30 < Pr
< 4.5 x 10
2
& 1 x 10
-2
< d/D < 8x10
-2
. All results for Dn
> 20 fitted within 10%. Also, two asymptotic correlations
were derived for Nu number as a function of Re, Pr and
d/D as Nu = 0.9 (Re
2
Pr)
1.6
for 20 < Dn < 1 x 10
2
and
Nu = 0.7 Re
0.43
Pr
1.6
(d/D)
0.67
for 1 x 10
2
< Dn < 8.3 x
10
2
.This is the best combination of analysis but this study
is limited by lower range of Re number. Narasimha et
al
62
studied on geometry with the axis of coil being turned
through 90 in a periodic manner and comparisons were
made with a coil without this change in axis. Experiments
showed an enhancement (6-8%) in-tube HT coefficient
with a corresponding pressure drop increase (1.5-2.5%)
over a Re number (3000-10000). A least square fit on
data gave hi
cA
= 545.99Re
0.123
(W/m
2
k) and hi
AA
=
512.04Re
0.138
(W/m
2
k). Enhancement factor due to
chaotic mixing was developed as
015 . 0
Re 938 . 0 =
CA
AA
hi
hi
.
Chaotic mixing was found more efficient than
regular mixing and could be used for all transport
phenomena. However, numerical study is carried out
for only one aspect ratio and very low Re number.
Kharat et al
63
studied experimental data and
CFD simulations using Fluent 6.3.26 to develop
improved HT coefficient correlation for flue gas side of
heat exchanger. Kharat et al
63
developed a new
correlation by using least square technique as
) (
096856199 . 0
3 . 0 834694285 . 0
Pr Re 02652604 . 0
Gapratio
Nu

=
for 20,000 < Re < 150,000 and coil gap/tube diameter
ratio = 0.55 to 2.25. This covers the most of the practical
range of helical coil heat exchanger application. Only
main drawback in this correlation is coil gap to tube
diameter ratio, which introduces error in correlation and
842 J SCI IND RES VOL 70 OCTOBER 2011
hence it is limiting parameter for wider range of
application.
Conclusions
This review indicates that considerable experimental
work has been done on HT through helical coils of circular
cross section. Except few, rest all studies have developed
correlations based on experimental data. Most of the
experimental correlations developed are applicable either
to work within acceptable range only or limited range of
parameters, beyond which large deviations are observed
with standard correlations. Substantial amount of
numerical work has been reported for various parameters
but they are limited by low range or single value of
parameters. However, question of scalability remains
unanswered because of practical difficulties in
experimental work. There is a need of analyzing dynamic
similarities amongst the geometrical similarities on large
scale models covering industrial applications. Further
research is required to be conducted at large scale on
considerable range of curvature ratio, low range of Pr
and Re number, temperature etc. to consider these
parameters and geometry in order to address scalability
issues, applicable to industries. It is proposed to develop
correlation including Nu number in terms of M number
to understand the type of flow pattern in helical coil.
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