Influence of geometric parameters on the thermal hydraulic performance of an ellipsoidal protruded enhanced tube

In this paper, the numerical simulation model of an ellipsoidal protruded tube has been established considering thermal hydraulic performance. The flow field characteristics and heat transfer characteristics of an ellipsoidal protruded tube were investigated. Effects of protrusion configuration, depth, pitch, number, axis ratio, and angle on thermal hydraulic performance were discussed using the realizable k-epsilon model under the steady-state condition. These results show that protrusion volume has a major impact on thermal hydraulic performance. The protrusions make the zone of flows narrow down at the protrusion leading edge side and expand at the trailing edge side, which resulted in protrusions increased turbulence, flow mixing, flow separation, and boundary layer distribution, thus enhancing the heat transfer performance. The maximum of local Nusselt number is located at the protrusions leading edge, and the minimum of local pressure is located at central of the protrusion surface. The configuration has no significant effect on the thermal hydraulic performance. Furthermore, the optimal selection of parameters boosts the heat transfer by up to 130.9% and amplifies the pressure loss up to 103.2%.