Experimental Studies on Heat Transfer Performance of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger with Air Bubble Injection

Objective: The present work has been done to investigate the effect on the heat transfer characteristics by injecting air bubbles at different injection points. Methods: The experimentation has been carried out with distilled water and with and without injection of air bubbles. The effect on heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number have been determined at various Reynolds Number. Findings: It has been observed that in comparison to the simple distilled water as cooling fluid, distilled water with air bubble injection shows more heat transfer enhancement. The result showed that the Nusselt number increased by 30%-45% with injection of air bubbles throughout the tube section. An enhancement of 25-40% in the heat transfer coefficient has been observed with the same condition. Improvements/Applications: This technique can be used in industries where shell and tubes are widely being used. Using this technique, the performance can be improved with much investment over operating cost.