Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/etfs

Experimental study of effects of baffle helix angle on shell-side

performance of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with discontinuous
helical baffles
Bin Gao, Qincheng Bi ⇑, Zesen Nie, Jiangbo Wu
State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Flow resistance and heat transfer of several shell-and-tube heat exchangers with discontinuous helical
Received 15 July 2014 baffles are experimentally studied and compared at the five helix angles of 8°, 12°, 20°, 30° and 40°.
Received in revised form 29 March 2015 The second-law based thermodynamic analysis is employed to analyze the effects of baffle helix angle
Accepted 12 April 2015
on the irreversible loss of heat exchangers. The results indicate that the shell-side pressure drop and heat
Available online 18 April 2015
transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger with smaller helix angle are higher than those with larger helix
angle at a given shell-side volume flow rate. However, in the condition of the same shell-side Reynolds
Keywords:
number, the flow resistance with larger helix angle is lower and the heat transfer performance is better.
Shell and tube heat exchangers
Discontinuous helical baffles
The heat exchanger with helical baffles at 40° helix angle presents the best comprehensive performance
Helix angle among the five testing heat exchangers. In the second-law thermodynamic comparisons, the irreversibil-
Entropy generation number ity of heat exchanger is estimated by the theories of entropy generation and entransy dissipation.
Entransy dissipation Experimental analysis shows that in the same heat transfer area and under the same working conditions,
Entransy dissipation-based thermal the shell-and-tube heat exchanger with smaller helix angle baffles produces less irreversibility in the heat
resistance exchange process. In addition, the heat exchangers with helical baffles are more effective under certain
conditions of low shell-side Reynolds number.
Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.

1. Introduction (STHXsHB) was invented in Czech Republic [1] and developed by

Because of their versatility, reliability and mature manufactur-
ing technology, shell-and-tube heat exchangers (STHXs) play a sig-
nificant role in many engineering processes, such as chemical
industry, oil refining, electric power generation, environmental
protection, and so on. As one of the crucial shell-side components
in STHXs, the baffles are of primary importance in forcing the shell-
side fluid to flow across the tubes to enhance high heat transfer
rates and supporting the tube bundle. The segmental baffle is most
commonly adopted, which improves the heat transfer by enhanc-
ing turbulence and local mixing on the shell side of heat exchan-
gers. However, the zigzag flow manner caused by the
arrangement of segmental baffles results in large dead spaces
and a relatively high degree of back-mixing. In addition, it also
brings some disadvantages such as high pressure drop and high
risk of vibration failure in the tube bundle. In order to overcome
the above-mentioned shortcomings of the conventional segmental
baffles, the shell-and-tube heat exchanger with helical baffles
⇑ Corresponding author.
ABB Lummus Heat Transfer [2].
Since the STHXsHB appears, many researchers have made
intensive researches and continuous improvements on it. Several
new configurations of helical baffle have been proposed, such as
continuous helical baffles [3], combined helical baffles [4], com-
bined multiple shell-pass helical baffles [5], trisection helical baf-
fles [6,7], and so on. However, considering the convenience of
manufacturing, the structure of discontinuous helical baffles (or
overlap baffles) is adopted commonly in STHXsHB, even though
existing flow leakage from the ‘‘triangle zones’’ located in adjacent
helical baffles. Experimental and numerical investigations have
confirmed that the comprehensive heat exchange performance
and fouling characteristics of the discontinuous helical baffles are
prior to that of the conventional segmental baffles [8–14].
Because the baffle helix angle (inclination angle) is an important
parameter that results directly in both the pressure drop and the
heat transfer characteristics of shell-side flow in STHXsHB, a num-
ber of studies have been conducted in this respect. Lutcha and
Nemcansky [1] investigated the flow pattern and heat transfer of
STHXsHB. They found that the helical baffle configuration could
force the shell-side flow field to approach a plug flow condition,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2015.04.011
0894-1777/Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57 49

Nomenclature
R_ fouling resistance
Latin symbols Rex equivalent thermal resistance of heat exchanger (K/W)
Amin minimum free flow area at the shell centerline (m2) R dimensionless entransy dissipation-based thermal
Ao heat exchange area (m2) resistance
B helical pitch (m) Re Reynolds number
c constant in curve fitting S_ gen entropy generation rate (W/K)
cp fluid specific heat at constant pressure (J/(kg K)) T temperature (K)
ct thermophysical properties correction factor DTAM arithmetic mean temperature difference (K)
Din inside diameter of shell (m) DTM true mean temperature difference between the two
Dl tube bundle-circumscribed circle diameter (m) fluids (K)
d tube diameter (m) DTLM logarithmic mean temperature difference (K)
E_ entransy dissipation rate (W K) tn tube pitch perpendicular to flow direction (m)
E dimensionless entransy dissipation number tp tube pitch (m)
e baffle overlap proportion (%) u velocity (m/s)
f friction factor
ft Darcy friction factor for turbulence flow inside tube Greek symbols
h heat transfer coefficiency (W/(m2 K)) e heat balance deviation (%)
j j factor h helix angle
K overall heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2 K)) k thermal conductivity (W/(m K))
l length from the staggered point of adjacent baffles to m kinematics viscosity (m2/s)
the shell inner wall q density (kg/m3)
ltb effective length of tube (m)
m constant in curve fitting Subscripts
N tube number c cold fluid
Nb number of helical baffles h hot fluid
Ns entropy generation number min minimum
Ntb number of tube rows max maximum
Nu Nusselt number in inlet or inside
Dp pressure drop (Pa) out outlet or outside
Pr Prandtl number s shell side
Q heat exchange rate (W) t tube side
qm mass flow rate (kg/s) w wall surface
qv volume flow rate (m3/h)

which increases the local driving force for heat transfer due to the
reduction of back mixing. Stehlik et al. [15] studied the heat trans-
fer and pressure drop correction factors of the optimized STHXs
with segmental baffles as compared with those of the STHXsHB.
They pointed out that helix angle, baffle arrangement, and the
space between two baffles are important parameters for design
purpose. Kral et al. [8] discussed the performance of STHXsHB
based on the test results of various baffles geometries. Wang [16]
measured the shell-side flow field in STHXsHB using a laser
Doppler anemometry, and pointed out that the optimum helix
inclination angle depends on the Reynolds number of the shell-side
working fluid. Lei et al. [17] investigated the effects of various baf-
fle inclination angles on the fluid flow and heat transfer of STHXs
with continuous helical baffles using three-dimensional numerical
simulations. Their results indicated that the shell-side pressure
drop decreased with an increase in the baffle inclination angle
while the maximum value of an average Nusselt number of the
tube bundle appeared at an angle of 30°. Zhang and his coworkers
[12] made a careful experimental study of the middle-overlapped
helical baffled STHXs with different helix angles. The experimental
results presented that the STHXsHB with 40° angle showed the
best comprehensive performance among the five heat exchangers
tested.
Although most of the above-mentioned experimental and
numerical studies on baffle helix angles focus on the characteristics
of shell-side pressure drop and heat transfer performance, these
analyses are mainly restricted to the method of first-law
thermodynamic analysis. Unlike the first-law thermodynamic
analysis, the second-law thermodynamic analysis takes the quality
of energy and irreversible loss into consideration. Investigations of
the second-law analysis were reported by Bejan [18–20], London
and Shah [21], Sekulic [22], and the various approaches were
reviewed by Hesselgreaves [23]. Yilmaz et al. [24] proposed a sec-
ond-law-based performance evaluation criterion to evaluate the
performance of heat exchangers.
In the past decade, Guo and his coworkers [25] proposed two
new physical concepts, entransy and entransy dissipation, for
describing the heat transfer ability and irreversibility in heat trans-
fer process, respectively. They confirmed that the entransy dissipa-
tion is more suitable than the entropy generation to evaluate the
irreversibility in the heat exchange process. On the basis of the
concept of entransy dissipation rate, an equivalent thermal resis-
tance of the heat exchanger was defined and the relationship
between the exchanger effectiveness and the thermal resistance
was also established [26]. Guo et al. [27] defined an entransy
dissipation number, a dimensionless entransy dissipation in heat
exchanger, as the evaluation criterion of heat exchanger perfor-
mance. Other studies based on the theory of entransy dissipation
have been carried out subsequently to optimize the design of heat
exchanger [28–33]. There are only several references available on
the second-law thermodynamics analysis applied in studying the
STHXsHB. He et al. [34] carried out the experimental and second-
law-based thermodynamic analysis on the STHXs with discontinu-
ous helical baffles. Their results indicated that the entropy genera-
tion number and exergy losses of the STHXsHB are both lower than
those of the STHXs with segmental baffles. Wang et al. [35] pointed
out that the STHXs with continuous helical baffles had better heat
transfer quality than the STHXs with segmental baffles through a
comparison of their entropy generation number and exergy losses.
However, few studies have been conducted on the influence of
50 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57

Fig. 1. Experimental system schematic.

various baffle helix angles in STHXsHB based on the second-law

thermodynamic analysis.
In the current work, five STHXsHB with different baffle helix
angles are tested. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects
of baffle helix angle in STHXsHB on the shell-side flow resistance
and heat transfer characteristics; in addition, evaluating these
effects are also conducted from the viewpoint of second-law
thermodynamic analysis. The fundamentals of the second-law
based thermodynamic analysis will be introduced first, followed
by the description of the configuration of the experimental system
and the tested pieces. Finally, results and discussion of the work
undertaken are presented.
2. Governing equations of second-law analysis for heat
exchangers
2.1. Entropy generation analysis
Fig. 2. Flow mixer schematic.
To avoid this paradox, Hesselgreaves [23] proposes another non-di-
mensional method for entropy generation rate as:
S_ gen T c;in
N0s ¼ ð5Þ
Q
where Tc,i is the cold fluid inlet temperature, and Q is the heat flow.
The obtained dimensionless entropy generation number is called
the modified entropy generation number and is employed as the
objective function in evaluating the irreversibility generated by
finite temperature difference and fluid flow friction in heat transfer
process.

Since a heat transfer process is irreversible and the entropy 2.2. Entransy dissipation and entransy dissipation-based thermal
generation is always produced during any heat transfer process resistance of heat exchanger
from the viewpoint of thermodynamics, the irreversible loss in
heat exchanger is evaluated in terms of entropy generation. Entransy dissipation is the loss of heat transfer potential during
There are mainly two types of irreversibility: heat conduction in the heat transfer process and can be used to evaluate the heat
finite temperature differences and flow friction in finite pressure transfer irreversibility. In a heat exchanger, the entransy dissipa-
drops. The entropy generation rate S_ gen;DT caused by finite tempera- tion rate caused by heat transfer under finite temperature differ-
ture difference can be written as follows [36]: ence is written as:
Z      
out
qm cp dT   T t;out   T s;out 1 1 1 1
S_ gen;DT ¼ ¼ qm cp t ln þ qm cp s ln ð1Þ E_ DT ¼ C h T 2h;in þ C c T 2c;in  C h T 2h;out þ C c T 2c;out
T T T s;in 2 2 2 2
in t;s t;in ð6Þ
1  2 1  2
For an incompressible fluid in non-adiabatic condition, the entropy ¼ qm cp h ðT h;in  T h;out Þ þ qm cp c ðT c;in  T 2c;out Þ
2
2 2
generation rate S_ gen;Dp caused by flow friction is proposed as follows Xu et al. [38] derives the expression of the entransy dissipation rate
[37]: caused by flow friction in heat exchanger from the relationship
  between the thermodynamic entropy generation and the entransy
Dp lnðT out =T in Þ
S_ gen;Dp ¼ qm dissipation. The entransy dissipation due to flow friction is
q T out  T in t;s
expressed as
Dpt lnðT t;out =T t;in Þ Dp lnðT s;out =T s;in Þ
¼ qm;t þ qm;s s ð2Þ qm;h Dph T h;out  T h;in qm;c Dpc T c;out  T c;in
qt T t;out  T t;in qs T s;out  T s;in E_ Dp ¼ þ ð7Þ
qh ln T h;out  ln T h;in qc ln T c;out  ln T c;in
The overall entropy generation rate S_ gen in the heat exchanger can
Hence, the overall entransy dissipation rate of heat exchanger is
be written as:
defined as
S_ gen ¼ S_ gen;DT þ S_ gen;Dp ð3Þ
E_ ¼ E_ DT þ E_ Dp ð8Þ
The dimensionless entropy generation is defined by Bejan first as
Multiplying the actual heat exchange capacity by the maximum
[18,19]:
temperature difference is considered as the maximum entransy
S_ gen dissipation of heat exchanger. Referring to the definition of the heat
Ns ¼   ð4Þ exchanger effectiveness, the dimensionless entransy dissipation
qm cp max
number can be written as [27]
where Ns is usually called entropy generation number. However, it
E_
has been found that the entropy generation number defined in such E ¼ ð9Þ
a manner would lead to the so-called ‘‘entropy generation paradox’’. Q ðT h;in  T c;in Þ
 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57 51

Fig. 3. Schematics of the testing heat exchanger and tube bundle arrangement.

and it can serve as the heat exchanger performance evaluation medium and was heated up to the predetermined temperature in
criterion. the electric heater. The hot oil was then pumped to conduct the
Guo defines the equivalent thermal resistance of heat exchan- heat exchange process by passing through the shell side of the test-
ger according to the concept of the entransy dissipation rate as [26] ing heat exchanger. Finally, the cooled oil flowed through a filter
and returned to the electric heater. The volume flow rate of the
E_ DT 1 DT AM
Rex ¼ ¼ ð10Þ oil was controlled by operating the valves, and a stable pressure
Q2 KAo DT M in the oil pipeline was achieved using an oil expansion tank. The
where DTAM is the arithmetic mean temperature difference, DTM is cooling water in the water loop was driven into the tube side of
the true mean temperature difference between the two fluids of the the heat exchanger from the water tank by a pump and absorbed
heat exchanger, and is related to the log-mean temperature differ- the heat of the conduction oil. Then, the hot water was cooled
ence DTLM by a correction factor, for counterflow, DTM = DTLM. down in an air cooling tower before returning to the water tank
The dimensionless entransy dissipation-based thermal resis- for reuse. The volume flow rate of the water was also adjusted
tance is as follows: by the regulating valves located in the main loop and bypass loop,
respectively. For minimizing the heat loss of the facility, the poly-
Rex ethylene insulating material with a thickness of 50 mm was
R ¼  1 ð11Þ
qm cp min wrapped on the outer surface of the testing heat exchanger. In
the present study, the volume flow rate of water in the tube side
The value of R⁄ reflects the magnitude of the consequent
was fixed at 10.7–11.3 m3/h, while the volume flow rate of oil in
irreversibility and the effectiveness of the heat exchanger. It is the shell side varied from 3 to 37 m3/h. The water inlet tempera-
needed to clarify that Eqs. (10) and (11) cannot be directly applied
ture was kept at 25–28 °C, however, the oil inlet temperature var-
for the heat exchangers involving phase change processes, such as a ied in the range of 60–66 °C according to different oil flow rate,
condenser or an evaporator. which made the average magnitudes of inlet and outlet tempera-
tures in shell side were kept within 55–58 °C in all test cases.
3. Experimental system and test piece This is because the value of oil dynamic viscosity changes with
temperature significantly, it is necessary to keep the oil average
3.1. Experimental system and measurement temperature constant as far as possible for reducing the influence
of physical properties.
The experimental system consisted of two separate loops, i.e., a The volume flow rate of the cooling water was measured by an
heating oil loop and a cooling water loop as schematically dis- electromagnetic flowmeter with an accuracy of ±0.3% of full scale,
played in Fig. 1. The heating oil loop comprised an oil electric hea- and a mass flowmeter with a precision of ±0.1% was installed in
ter, an oil pump, a filter, an expansion tank and the testing heat the oil pipeline to measure the mass flow rate of the conduction
exchanger. Conduction oil was used as the shell-side heat transfer oil. The inlet and outlet fluid temperatures were measured by using
the calibrated type-T copper-constantan sheathed thermocouples
with an accuracy of ±0.25 °C. Four flow mixers were installed at
Table 1
Geometry parameters of the testing STHXsHB. the inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger to ensure a high accuracy
measurement of the bulk temperature and a good heat balance. The
Item Dimensions and description
schematic diagram of flow mixer is shown in Fig. 2. The flow mixer,
No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 composed of two orifice plates and one sheathed thermocouple,
Shell side parameters was connected with the flange of inlet/outlet nozzle of the heat
Shell inside diameter (mm) 313 exchanger. The fluid went though two orifice plates successively
Tube bundle diameter (mm) 290
before the fluid bulk temperature was measured by the sheathed
Tube parameters thermocouple. There were a number of little holes positioned along
dout/din (mm) 19/15
the outer periphery in the first plate while only one bigger hole was
Effective length (mm) 1184 1484 2234 3284 3075
Number 97 located in the second plate. Owing to the existence of these orifice
Layout pattern 45° rotated square plates, the fluid was mixed adequately, which weakens even elimi-
Tube pitch (mm) 25 nates the temperature stratification at the small flow rate condi-
Material 12Cr1MoVG tion. In order to reduce the errors of the bulk temperature
Baffle parameters measurements, the insulating material was also wrapped on the
Baffle shape Quadrant-ellipse flow mixers and sheathed thermocouples. A detailed description
Baffle pitch (mm) 117 177 303 481 699
Helix angle 8° 12° 20° 30° 40°
of the flow mixer can refer to the literature [12].
Overlap proportion 10% The capacitive differential pressure sensors with an accuracy of
Number 24 24 24 24 16 ±0.065% of full scale were employed to measure the pressure drop
52 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57

in the present study. The arrangement of pressure measurement 3.3. Data reduction
sections is marked in Fig. 3. As is shown in Fig. 3, it can be found
that the cross-sections 1 and 2 were situated on the first and the The shell-side flow friction characteristics can be reflected by
last helical baffle plate respectively, hence, the pressure drop friction factor fs and is defined as:
between the cross-sections 1 and 2 reflected the actual pressure
Dps do 1
drop of the tube bundle zone on the shell side. What should be fs ¼   ð13Þ
emphasized here is that the geometry and structure of the
2qs u2s ltb Ntb
entrance and exit regions in these testing STHXsHB were designed where Dps is the pressure drop of the tube bundle zone on shell
to be the same as far as possible, in addition, the helical baffle side, ltb is the tube effective length, Ntb is the row number of the
plates existed a certain distance away from the inlet and outlet tube bundle, and qs is the density of shell-side fluid.
cross-sections for stabilizing the shell-side flow, therefore, the The shell-side fluid mean velocity us is defined as:
influence of the flow momentum changes in the inlet and outlet
qv ;s
regions was neglected and the pressure drop measured between us ¼ ð14Þ
the cross-sections 1 and 2 excluded the additional flow resistance Amin
due to the sudden change of inlet and outlet cross-sections. The where qv,s is the volume flow rate of the shell-side fluid, and Amin
Solarton IMP 35951C multichannel data acquisition system was denotes the minimum free flow area at the shell centerline, and is
adopted to collect all measurement data into the industrial com- calculated according to:
puter for instant observation and recording.    
Dl  dout
Amin ¼ 0:5B Din  Dl þ 2  ðtp  dout Þ ð15Þ
tn

3.2. Test piece geometry where Dl is the diameter of the tube bundle-circumscribed circle,
dout is the outside diameter of tube, tp denotes the tube pitch and
In the present study, five shell and tube heat exchangers with tn is the tube pitch perpendicular to flow direction. B represents
discontinuous helical baffles and different helix angles of 8°, 12°, the helical pitch, which depends on the baffle helix angle h, the baf-
20°, 30° and 40° were tested. The discontinuous helical baffles fle overlap proportion e, the number of baffles Nb and the inside
were formed by four elliptical sector-shaped plates joined in suc- diameter of shell Din, and it is defined as [42]
cession and arranged in a pseudo-helical manner. Since each baffle  
p
was placed in a certain angle with the axis of the heat exchanger, B ¼ ð1  eÞ  Nb  Din sin  tan h; Nb P 2 ð16Þ
Nb
this angle between the normal line of the baffle and the heat
exchanger axis is named helix angle h. The two adjacent plates The shell-side Reynolds number is calculated by
may be jointed end to end at the perimeter of each sector, forming us dout
a continuous helix at the outer periphery, and this structure of baf- Res ¼ ð17Þ
ms
fles connection is called a continuous connection [12]. Another
connection is the axially staggered overlap baffles, as is shown in where ms is the kinematic viscosity of the shell-side fluid.
Fig. 3, and is more popular in engineering practice. The important The heat exchange rate of shell-side fluid is
characteristic parameter of the staggered overlap baffles is the
Q s ¼ qm;s  cp;s  ðT s;in  T s;out Þ ð18Þ
overlap proportion e, defined as follows
The heat exchange rate of tube-side fluid is
2l Q t ¼ qm;t  cp;t  ðT t;in  T t;out Þ ð19Þ
e¼  100% ð12Þ
Din
where qm,t denotes the mass flow rate of the tube-side fluid, Ts,in and
Ts,out are the shell-side temperature at the inlet and outlet, respec-
where Din is the inside diameter of shell, l is the length from the tively, Tt,in and Tt,out are the tube-side temperature at the inlet and
staggered point of adjacent baffles to the shell inner wall. The heli- outlet, cp,s and cp,t are the specific heat at constant pressure of oil
cal baffles of heat exchangers being tested in the present study were and water, respectively. The reference temperature for the fluid
the staggered overlap baffles connection and the overlap proportion
e all equalled 10%. It also can be found that the arrangement of tube
bundle in Fig. 3. All testing heat exchangers had same tube layout
pattern and number of tubes. The heat exchange tubes presented
a 45° rotated square layout and the tube pitch was 25 mm.
Detailed geometric parameters are listed in Table 1.
Owing to the restrictions of the experimental conditions, the
STHXsHB with the angle of 40° was designed as four helical cycles,
while the others contained six helical cycles. According to some
scholars’ investigations on the shell-side flow resistance and heat
transfer characteristics of STHXsHB by means of the three-
dimensional numerical simulation method [39–41], the shell-side
fluid can form a fully developed helical flow after 1–1.5 helical
cycles from the inlet, hence, the shell-side flow in the STHXsHB
with the angle of 40° can be regarded as a fully developed helical
flow in the present study, like other testing heat exchangers.
Note that the dimensions and structure of these testing heat
exchangers are the same with the industrial equipment, and hence,
the additional effects caused by small-size models on the accuracy
of the experimental data can be eliminated effectively. Fig. 4. Pressure drop in shell-side tube bundle zone versus volume flow rate.
 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57 53

logarithmic mean temperature difference is equal to 1. Likewise,

Eqs. 18–26 are not suitable for the heat exchangers involving phase
change processes.
The average shell-side heat transfer coefficient hs can be
obtained using the revised Wilson plot technique [43]:

1 1 1 dout dout dout _

¼   ln  Rs  R_ t ð27Þ
hs K ht din 2kw din

where dout and din are the inside and outside diameters of the heat
exchange tubes, R_ s and R_ t are the fouling resistances in the shell side
and tube side, and both of them are neglected in the experiment
because these test pieces are newly manufactured. kw is the thermal
conductivity of the tube wall, and is taken as constant (45 W/(m K))
in the data reduction. ht is the tube-side heat transfer coefficient,
which is calculated by the semi-empirical correlation of Gnielinski
[44]:
Fig. 5. Friction factor versus Reynolds number in shell side. "
   2=3 #
kt ðf t =8ÞðRet  1000ÞPrt din
ht ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 2=3 1þ ct ð28Þ
din 1 þ 12:7 f t =8ðPrt  1Þ ltb
 0:11
Pr t
ct ¼ ð29Þ
Pr w
2
f t ¼ ð1:82 lg Ret  1:64Þ ð30Þ

After substituting Eqs. (28) into (27), the shell-side heat transfer
coefficients hs can be calculated. Then, the shell-side Nusselt num-
ber is computed by the following equation:

hs dout
Nus ¼ ð31Þ
ks

And the heat transfer factor js is determined as follows:

hs
js ¼ ðPr s Þ2=3 ð32Þ
cp;s qs us

Finally, the experimental data are fitted into the following empirical
Fig. 6. Heat transfer coefficient versus volume flow rate in shell side.
correlations:
thermodynamic and transport properties of water and oil is the
average temperature of the inlet and outlet. f s ¼ c1 Rem
s
1
ð33Þ
The average heat exchange rate is defined as Nus ¼ c2 Rem 1=3
s Pr s
2
ð34Þ
Q ¼ ðQ s þ Q t Þ=2 ð20Þ js ¼ c3 Rem
s
3
ð35Þ

The heat balance deviation in percentage is For all test cases, the varying range of oil Prandtl number was 125–
jQ  Q t j 145, and the shell-side Reynolds number was from 120 to 1150.
e¼ s  100% ð21Þ
Q
In the present study, only the data satisfying the heat balance
condition (e is less than 5%) are used in the analysis.
The overall heat transfer coefficient, K, is equal to
Q
K¼ ð22Þ
Ao  DT LM
Ao ¼ N  pdo ltb ð23Þ

where Ao is the heat exchange area based on the outer diameter of

the tube, N is the number of tubes, and DTLM is the logarithmic-
mean temperature difference, which can be determined by:
DT max  DT min
DT LM ¼ ð24Þ
lnðDT max =DT min Þ
DT max ¼ T s;in  T t;out ð25Þ
DT min ¼ T s;out  T t;in ð26Þ

Because the testing heat exchangers are all single shell and tube
pass with counter-flow pattern, the correction factor for the Fig. 7. Nusselt number versus Reynolds number in shell side.
54 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57

smaller helix angle leads to a larger increase rate of Dps. At a given

volume flow rate qv,s, the Dps of large helix angle is lower than that
of small helix angle. The reasons can be explained as follows. First,
a small helix angle leads to a shorter helical pitch (Eq. (16)) and a
smaller free flow area at the shell centerline (Eq. (15)). The smaller
flow area further causes a larger shell-side velocity us at the same
qv,s while the Dps is proportional to us1.75–us2.0. Second, a large
helix angle causes a larger triangle zone located at the adjacent
baffles. More shell-side fluid would leak through these triangle
zones directly to the next flow channel instead of flowing around
the tube bundle, which brings about an obvious reduction of the
Dps.

4.1.2. Shell-side friction factor

The empirical correlations between the shell-side friction factor
fs and the shell-side Reynolds number Res for each of the testing
Fig. 8. j factor versus Reynolds number in shell side. STHXsHB are obtained together with the average deviations of
data-fitting.

3.4. Experimental uncertainties h ¼ 8 f s ¼ 0:1893Re0:4684

s ð2:18%Þ ð37Þ
h ¼ 12 
fs ¼ 0:1779Re0:4686
s ð3:64%Þ ð38Þ
The experimental uncertainty of the present work is deter-
h ¼ 20 fs ¼ 0:1392Re0:4432
s ð3:02%Þ ð39Þ
mined by using the method presented by Kline and McClintock
[45]. The experimental uncertainty is defined as follows: h ¼ 30 fs ¼ 0:1821Re0:5192
s ð1:65%Þ ð40Þ
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2  2  2  2 h ¼ 40 
fs ¼ 0:0928Re0:4331
s ð2:07%Þ ð41Þ
@R @R @R @R
WR ¼ W x1 þ W x2 þ   W xn1 þ W xn
@x1 @x2 @xn1 @xn Graphical presentations of the above five equations are depicted in
ð36Þ Fig. 5. It is evident that the fs of all testing STHXsHB decreases with
where R = f (x1, x2, . . ., xn) and xn represents the variable that affects an increase in Res number, and the fs reduces obviously as the helix
the results of R. In the present study, the relative uncertainties of angle changes from 8° to 40° at the same Res number.
shell-side pressure drop, heat transfer rate, shell-side heat transfer
coefficient and friction factor calculated by the above method are 4.2. Heat transfer performance
less than 1.22%, 2.85%, 3.20% and 2.87%, respectively.
4.2.1. Heat transfer coefficient
4. Results and discussion The shell-side average heat transfer coefficients hs separated
from the overall heat transfer coefficients are shown in Fig. 6 with
4.1. Shell-side flow resistance characteristics the variation of shell-side fluid volume flow rate qv,s. It is observed
that hs increases with the increasing qv,s; moreover, the hs of the
4.1.1. Shell-side pressure drop STHXsHB with small helix angle is higher than that with large helix
Fig. 4 depicts the variations of the pressure drop of the tube angle at a given oil qv,s. Here, we can adopt the same explanation
bundle zone Dps with respect to the volume flow rate qv,s of the stated earlier to analyze the relationship between the shell-side
shell-side fluid. It is clearly seen that the Dps of all testing heat heat transfer coefficient and the helix angle. That is, because the
exchangers increase monotonically with the increase of qv,s; how- small helix angle produces the larger shell-side velocity and less
ever, the growth rates vary with the different helix angles, that is, a leakage flow from the triangle zones, the shell-side heat transfer

Fig. 9. Shell-side heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop versus volume Fig. 10. Shell-side heat transfer coefficient per unit pump power versus volume
flow rate. flow rate.
 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57 55

1=3
Fig. 11. Dimensionless comprehensive performance index js =f s versus Reynolds Fig. 12. Modified entropy generation number versus shell-side Reynolds number.
number.
changes from 25° to 40° [8]. The result of the present study is in
qualitative agreement with that of Kral [8] and Zhang [12].
characteristics in the STHXsHB with small helix angle are superior The correlations between the js and the Res number for each
to that with large helix angle at the same qv,s. testing STHXsHB with the average data-fitted deviations (dis-
played in the parentheses) are listed as follows, with these results
4.2.2. Correlations of shell-side Nusselt number and j factor illustrated in Fig. 8.
The correlations between the shell-side Nusselt number Nus and
h ¼ 8 js ¼ 0:1315Re0:4004
s ð0:95%Þ ð47Þ
the Res number for each testing STHXsHB with the average data-
fitted deviations shown in the parentheses are listed as follows. h ¼ 12 
js ¼ 0:1554Re0:3913
s ð1:03%Þ ð48Þ
h ¼ 20 js ¼ 0:3337Re0:4936
s ð0:41%Þ ð49Þ
h ¼ 8 Nus ¼ 0:1259Re0:6063
s Prs1=3 ð1:23%Þ ð42Þ
h ¼ 30 
js ¼ 0:3707Re0:4878
s ð0:91%Þ ð50Þ
h ¼ 12 Nus ¼ 0:1692Re0:5945
s Pr1=3
s ð1:03%Þ ð43Þ
h ¼ 40 js ¼ 0:2876Re0:4254
s ð0:79%Þ ð51Þ
h ¼ 20 Nus ¼ 0:3406Re0:5032
s Pr1=3
s ð0:68%Þ ð44Þ
h ¼ 30 Nus ¼ 0:3708Re0:5122
s Pr1=3
s ð0:81%Þ ð45Þ
4.3. Comprehensive performance analysis
h ¼ 40 Nus ¼ 0:3063Re0:5636
s Pr1=3
s ð0:83%Þ ð46Þ
The heat transfer coefficients per unit pressure drop and per
The above equations are presented in Fig. 7 with double logarithmic
unit pumping power are defined as hs/Dps and hs/(Dps  qv,s),
coordinates. Obviously, the Nus number rises with the increase of
respectively. Comparisons of the hs/Dps and hs/(Dps  qv,s) of each
Res number, and this change trend is the same for all testing heat
testing STHXsHB are presented in Figs. 9 and 10, respectively. It
exchangers. However, unlike the dependency of hs on the baffle
can be found clearly that the comprehensive performance of
helix angle displayed in Fig. 6, the Nus number increases with an
STHXsHB declines with an increase in qv,s. In addition, the hs/Dps
increasing helix angle at the same Res number. For instance, within
and hs/(Dps  qv,s) all rise up with the increase of helix angle from
the Res number tested, the Nus numbers with 30° and 40° helix
8° to 40° at a given qv,s; however, the growth rate of comprehensive
angles are 13–16% and 29–33% higher than those with 20° helix
performance depends on the helix angle. Within the tested range
angle, respectively. For the same Res number or shell-side velocity,
of qv,s in the present study, the hs/Dps of the STHXsHB with 30°
the shell-side heat transfer characteristics of the STHXsHB with 40°
helix angle grows up by 35–45% over that with 20° helix angle,
helix angle are the highest among the five testing STHXsHB. This
while the hs/Dps of the STHXsHB with 40° helix angle is 100–
result may be explained as follows. When the flow stream with a
105% higher than that with 30° helix angle.
velocity gradient profile flows across a tube at a certain angle, the
1=3
flow stream deviates asymmetrically relative to the tube; moreover, The present study adopts js =f s as a criterion for evaluating the
the boundary layer on the tube surface becomes thin and detaches comprehensive performance of the testing heat exchangers.
from the surface. Thus the heat transfer performance on the tube Considering that the pump power is proportional to the third
1=3
surface is enhanced. It has been experimentally confirmed that this power of the velocity, js =f s gives a qualitative magnitude of the
heat transfer enhancement effect increases gradually as the angle heat transfer performance to the flow resistance in the same pump
1=3
power condition. Fig. 11 depicts the variation of js =f s versus Res
1=3
Table 2 number. It can be seen from Fig. 11 that js =f s decreases with
Geometry parameters of the heat exchangers for checking calculation. the increasing Res number and that the STHXsHB with 40° helix
Shell inside diameter (mm) 313
angle presents the best comprehensive performance among all
Tube inside/outside diameter (mm) 15/19 testing heat exchangers within the scope of the tests.
Tube effective length (mm) 5000
Tube number 97
Baffle helix angle 8°, 12°, 20°, 30°, 40°
4.4. Performance evaluation based on second-law thermodynamic
Cold water (tube side) inlet temperature (K) 293 analysis
Hot oil (shell side) inlet temperature (K) 333
Cold water volume flow rate (m3/h) 30 From the viewpoint of second-law thermodynamics, the objec-
Hot oil volume flow rate (m3/h) 2–40
tive in the optimal design of a heat exchanger is to reduce the
56 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57
Fig. 13. Entransy dissipation number versus shell-side Reynolds number.
irreversibility in the heat transfer process. As has been already
reported, the different baffle helix angles in STHXsHB, which affect
the shell-side flow resistance and heat transfer characteristics,
inevitably bring about different magnitudes of irreversible loss.
Especially in the case of modifying an existing heat exchanger by
helical baffles, the selection of the helical baffles parameter is more
important. Prior to introducing the following study concerning the
evaluation on the shell-side irreversibility of STHXsHB with differ-
ent baffle helix angles, it has to be noted that a more reasonable
quantity comparison should be carried out in the same heat trans-
fer area and under the same working conditions. Thus, the follow-
ing comparison is on the basis of the checking calculation data
under the same operating condition for the shell-and-tube heat
exchangers with uniform heat transfer area but different baffle
helix angles. Here, the shell-side flow resistance and heat transfer
empirical correlations corresponding to different helix angle baf-
fles (Eqs. 37–46) were utilized in the checking calculation process.
Table 2 lists the geometric parameters of the heat exchangers and
the operation conditions. One point requiring explanation in this
table is that the cold water is set as constant and the maximum
heat capacity rate fluid in the scope of calculation.
Fig. 12 shows the variations of the modified entropy generation
number Ns’ with the Res number in shell side. For each of these
testing heat exchangers, the Ns’ number increases with the increase
of the Res number. It is clear that the Ns’ number of the STHXsHB
Fig. 14. Dimensionless entransy dissipation-based thermal resistance versus shell-
side Reynolds number.
with small helix angle is lower than that with large helix angle
at the same Res number. It is also interesting to note that with
the increasing Res number, the growth rates of Ns’ number are dif-
ferent for the five helix angles. The smaller the helix angle is, the
faster the Ns’ number rises with an increase in the Res number,
and vice versa. For example, to compare the Ns’ number of 8°
and 30° in the range of Res number from 200 to 1000, we can see
that the former grows up by 14%, while the latter increases only
by 8.6%.
The present study also employs the theory of entransy dissipa-
tion to study the effects of baffle helix angle on the irreversibility
generated in the heat exchange process of STHXsHB. The variations
of the entransy dissipation number E⁄ and the dimensionless
entransy dissipation-based thermal resistance R⁄ versus Res num-
ber are depicted in Figs. 13 and 14, respectively. As shown in
Fig. 13, the variation trend of the E⁄ number with the increasing
Res number is similar to that of the Ns0 number presented in
Fig. 12. Since the concept of entransy dissipation is suitable to esti-
mate the irreversibility of a heat transfer process from the view-
point of the energy transport process, the entransy dissipation
number is more applicable than the modified entropy generation
number for the design optimization of heat exchangers. In
Fig. 14, the dimensionless entransy dissipation-based thermal
resistance increases monotonously with Res number, and the influ-
ence of helix angle on the dimensionless entransy dissipation-
based thermal resistance is significant.
From the results presented in Figs. 12–14, it is concluded that
the change of helix angle not only brings about different shell-side
flow resistances and heat transfer characteristics of STHXsHB, but
also leads to various irreversible losses produced in the heat
exchange process. In the present study, in the same heat transfer
area and under the same working conditions, the helical baffles
with small helix angle cause less irreversible loss from the view-
point of second-law analysis. In addition, since the irreversibility
is directly proportional to Res number, the STHXsHB are more
effective employing in low shell-side Reynolds number conditions.
5. Conclusions
In the present study, the flow resistance and heat transfer char-
acteristics of five STHXsHB with different helix angles are experi-
mentally investigated. The second-law thermodynamic analysis,
including the theories of entropy generation and entransy dissipa-
tion, are also applied to evaluate the effects of baffle helix angle on
the irreversibility in STHXsHB. The main conclusions are summar-
ized as follows.
(1) With the increase of shell-side volume flow rate, the pres-
sure drop increases for all the testing STHXsHB, and the
variation in the small helix angle region is obvious. At a
given volume flow rate, the pressure drop of the tube bundle
zone in STHXsHB decreases with the increase of helix angle.
(2) The shell-side heat transfer coefficient increases with the
increasing volume flow rate, and it is negatively correlated
with the baffle helix angle at the rate of the same shell-side
volume flow. However, for the same shell-side Reynolds
number, the shell-side Nusselt number and the j factor
increase with the increase of helix angle, with the heat
transfer performance of the STHXsHB with 40° helix angle
being the highest among the five testing heat exchangers.
(3) At a given volume flow rate, the STHXsHB with large helix
angle has a much higher heat transfer coefficient per unit
pressure drop or per unit pumping power. The STHXsHB
with 40° helix angle shows the best comprehensive perfor-
mance among all testing heat exchangers.
 B. Gao et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 48–57
(4) In the case of retrofitting an existing shell-and-tube heat
exchanger by helical baffles, the smaller baffle helix angle
is the priority selection from the viewpoint of second-law
thermodynamic analysis, with the STHXsHB employed more
effectively in the conditions of low shell-side Reynolds
number.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to give sincere gratitude to J. Chang, H.
Wang and X.L. Lei for many fruitful discussions and help during
the preparation of this paper.
References
[1] J. Lutcha, J. Nemcansky, Performance improvement of tubular heat exchangers
by helical baffles, Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 68 (3) (1990) 263–270.
[2] ABB Lummus Global Inc., US Patent No. 6827138 B1, 2004.
[3] B. Peng, Q.W. Wang, C. Zhang, G.N. Xie, L.Q. Luo, Q.Y. Chen, M. Zeng, An
experimental study of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with continuous helical
baffles, ASME J. Heat Transf. 129 (10) (2007) 1425–1431.
[4] G.D. Chen, Q.W. Wang, Experimental and numerical studies of shell-and-tube
heat exchangers with helical baffles, ASME Conf. Proc. 2009 (43567) (2009)
601–609.
[5] Q.W. Wang, G.D. Chen, Q.Y. Chen, M. Zeng, D.H. Zhang, Numerical studies of a
novel combined multiple shell-pass shell-and-tube heat exchanger with
helical baffles, ASME Conf. Proc. 2008 (48487) (2008) 23–31.
[6] Y.P. Chen, A novel helix baffled heat exchanger suitable for tube bundle
arrangement with equilateral triangles, Petro-Chem. Equip. 37 (6) (2008) 1–5
(in Chinese).
[7] Y.P. Chen, Y.J. Sheng, C. Dong, J.F. Wu, Numerical simulation on flow field in
circumferential overlap trisection helical baffle heat exchanger, Appl. Therm.
Eng. 50 (1) (2013) 1035–1043.
[8] D. Kral, P. Stehlik, H.J. van der Ploeg, B.I. Master, Helical baffles in shell-and-
tube heat exchangers, Part I: Experimental verification, Heat Transf. Eng. 17 (1)
(1996) 93–101.
[9] B.I. Master, K.S. Chunangad, A.J. Boxma, D. Kral, P. Stehlik, Most frequently used
heat exchangers from pioneering research to worldwide applications, Heat
Transf. Eng. 27 (6) (2006) 4–11.
[10] Y.G. Lei, Y.L. He, P. Chu, R. Li, Design and optimization of heat exchangers with
helical baffles, Chem. Eng. Sci. 63 (17) (2008) 4386–4395.
[11] C. Wang, J.G. Zhu, Z.F. Sang, Experimental studies on thermal performance and
flow resistance of heat exchangers with helical baffles, Heat Transf. Eng. 30 (5)
(2009) 353–358.
[12] J.F. Zhang, B. Li, W.J. Huang, Y.G. Lei, Y.L. He, W.Q. Tao, Experimental
performance comparison of shell-side heat transfer for shell-and-tube heat
exchangers with middle-overlapped helical baffles and segmental baffles,
Chem. Eng. Sci. 64 (8) (2009) 1643–1653.
[13] Q.W. Wang, G.D. Chen, Q.Y. Chen, M. Zeng, Review of Improvements on shell-
and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles, Heat Transf. Eng. 31 (10) (2010)
836–853.
[14] S. Zeyninejad Movassag, F. Nemati Taher, K. Razmi, R. Tasouji Azar, Tube
bundle replacement for segmental and helical shell and tube heat exchangers:
performance comparison and fouling investigation on the shell side, Appl.
Therm. Eng. 51 (1-2) (2013) 1162–1169.
[15] P. Stehlik, J. Nemcansky, D. Kral, L.W. Swanson, Comparison of correction
factors for shell-and-tube heat exchangers with segmental or helical baffles,
Heat Transf. Eng. 15 (1) (1994) 55–65.
[16] S.L. Wang, Hydrodynamic studies on heat exchangers with helical baffles, Heat
Transf. Eng. 23 (3) (2002) 43–49.
[17] Y.G. Lei, Y.L. He, R. Li, Y.F. Gao, Effects of baffle inclination angle on flow and
heat transfer of a heat exchanger with helical baffles, Chem. Eng. Process. 47
(12) (2008) 2336–2345.
57
[18] A. Bejan, General criterion for rating heat exchanger performance, Int. J. Heat
Mass Transf. 21 (1978) 655–658.
[19] A. Bejan, Second-law analysis in heat transfer and thermal design, in: J.P.
Hartnett, T.F. Irvine (Eds.), Advances in Heat Transfer, vol. 15, Academic Press,
New York, 1982, pp. 25–38.
[20] A. Bejan, Entropy Generation Minimization, CRC Press, New York, 1995.
[21] A.L. London, R.K. Shah, Costs of irreversibilities in heat exchanger design, Heat
Transf. Eng. 4 (1983) 59–73.
[22] D.P. Sekulic, Entropy generation in a heat exchanger, Heat Transf. Eng. 7 (1986)
83–88.
[23] J.E. Hesselgreaves, Rationalisation of second law analysis of heat exchangers,
Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 43 (2000) 4189–4204.
[24] M. Yilmaz, O.N. Sara, S. Karsli, Performance evaluation criteria for heat
exchangers based on second law analysis, Exergy Int. J. 1 (4) (2001) 278–294.
[25] Z.Y. Guo, H.Y. Zhu, X.G. Liang, Entransy – a physical quantity describing heat
transfer ability, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 50 (2007) 2545–2556.
[26] Z.Y. Guo, X.B. Liu, W.Q. Tao, R.K. Shah, Effectiveness–thermal resistance
method for heat exchanger design and analysis, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 53
(2010) 2877–2884.
[27] J.F. Guo, L. Cheng, M.T. Xu, Entransy dissipation number and its application to
heat exchanger performance evaluation, Chin. Sci. Bull. 54 (2009) 2708–2713.
[28] J.F. Guo, M.T. Xu, L. Cheng, Principle of equipartition of entransy dissipation for
heat exchanger design, Sci. China Technol. Sci. 53 (2010) 1309–1314.
[29] X.F. Li, J.F. Guo, M.T. Xu, L. Cheng, Entransy dissipation minimization for
optimization of heat exchanger design, Chin. Sci. Bull. 56 (20) (2011) 2174–
2178.
[30] X.D. Qian, Z.X. Li, Analysis of entransy dissipation in heat exchangers, Int. J.
Therm. Sci. 50 (2011) 608–614.
[31] X.T. Cheng, Q.Z. Zhang, X.G. Liang, Analyses of entransy dissipation, entropy
generation and entransy dissipation-based thermal resistance on heat
exchanger optimization, Appl. Therm. Eng. 38 (2012) 31–39.
[32] J.F. Guo, M.T. Xu, The application of entransy dissipation theory in
optimization design of heat exchanger, Appl. Therm. Eng. 36 (2012) 227–235.
[33] Q. Chen, Entransy dissipation-based thermal resistance method for heat
exchanger performance design and optimization, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 60
(2013) 156–162.
[34] Y.L. He, Y.G. Lei, W.Q. Tao, J.F. Zhang, P. Chu, R. Li, Second-law based
thermodynamic analysis of a novel heat exchanger, Chem. Eng. Technol. 32 (1)
(2009) 86–92.
[35] G.D. Chen, J. Xu, M. Zen, Q.W. Wang, 3-D numerical study on shell-side
comprehensive performance of shell-and-tube heat exchanger with combined
helical baffles, ASME Conf. Proc. 2010 (49392) (2010) 553–562.
[36] R.K. Shah, D.P. Sekulic, Fundamentals of Heat Exchanger Designing, John Wiley
& Sons Inc, USA, 2003.
[37] J.F. Guo, L. Cheng, M.T. Xu, Optimization design of shell-and-tube heat
exchanger by entropy generation minimization and genetic algorithm, Appl.
Therm. Eng. 29 (2009) 2954–2960.
[38] M.T. Xu, L. Cheng, J.F. Guo, An application of entransy dissipation theory to
heat exchanger design, J. Eng. Thermophys. 30 (2009) 2090–2092 (in Chinese).
[39] S. Ji, W.J. Du, L. Cheng, Investigation on shell-side performance of heat
exchanger with axially staggered overlap helical baffles, ASME Conf. Proc.
2010 (49392) (2010) 265–270.
[40] X. Cao, W.J. Du, S. Ji, L. Cheng, Influence of overlap size on shell-side
performance of heat exchangers with helical baffles, Proc. CSEE 32 (8) (2012)
78–84 (in Chinese).
[41] J.F. Zhang, Y.L. He, W.Q. Tao, 3D numerical simulation on shell-and-tube heat
exchangers with middle-overlapped helical baffles and continuous baffles –
Part I: Numerical model and results of whole heat exchanger with middle-
overlapped helical baffles, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 52 (23–24) (2009) 5371–
5380.
[42] B. Li, W.Q. Tao, Y.L. He, Determination of helical lead distance of shell-and-tube
heat exchanger with helical baffles, J. Chem. Ind. Eng. 58 (3) (2007) 587–590
(in Chinese).
[43] J.W. Rose, Heat-transfer coefficient, Wilson plots and accuracy of thermal
measurements, Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 28 (2–3) (2004) 77–86.
[44] V. Gnielinski, New equations for heat and mass transfer in turbulent pipe and
channel flow, Int. Chem. Eng. 16 (1976) 359–368.
[45] S.J. Kline, F.A. McClintock, Describing uncertainties in single-sample
experiments, Mech. Eng. 75 (1) (1953) 3–8.