International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180

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International Journal of Thermal Sciences

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

Effect of the perforation design on the fluid flow and heat transfer T
characteristics of a plate fin heat exchanger
Karima Boukhadiaa,b,∗, Houari Ameura,∗∗, Djamel Sahelc, Mohamed Bozitb
a
Department of Technology, Institute of Science and Technology, University Center Salhi Ahmed of Naâma (Ctr Univ Naâma), P.B. 66, 45000, Algeria
b
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, USTO-MB, 1505 El M'naouar, Oran 31000, Algeria
c
Department of Technical Sciences, University Amar Thilidji of Laghouat, Algeria

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Three dimensional numerical simulations are carried out to explore the performance of vortex generators in a
Plate fin heat exchanger plate fin heat exchanger. Rectangular and perforated wings are used as vortex generators to enhance the heat
Vortex generator transfer rates. A comparison is made between the performances of a plate fin with and without baffles. When the
Perforated baffle heat exchanger is equipped with baffles, the efficiency of two configurations was compared: a baffle with and
Rectangular wing
without perforation. Also, the effects of the perforation shape were studied. It concerns three cases: rectangular,
Shear thinning fluid
triangular and circular. Validation of our numerical results with the available experimental data has revealed a
satisfactory agreement. The obtained results show that the baffled cases perform better than the unbaffled one.
The performance factor is found to be higher in the perforated baffle than the baffle without perforation.
Compared to the unbaffled case, the maximum thermal performance factor (TPF) of 2.14 was obtained with the
circular perforated baffle, followed by the rectangular perforated baffle (TPF = 1.57), triangular baffle
(TPF = 1.46) and finally the baffle without perforation (TPF = 1.41). At the end of paper, new correlations for
the prediction of friction factor and Nusselt number depending on Reynolds number and the shape of perforation
in baffles are developed.

1. Introduction direction is lied parallel or perpendicular to the VG, the VG is named as

Plate fin heat exchangers (PFHEs) are widely encountered in several
industrial processes such as in refrigeration, heating, air conditioning,
radiator of vehicles and other areas. Therefore, some criteria are desired
during the production of such heat exchangers, as the small size, low
weight, low cost and high performance. From the different kinds of
PFHEs available in industries, the vortex-generator (VG) channel is the
most promising technique to meet these criteria [1,2]. Different shapes
of plate are used in channels as vortex generators, such as plain, per-
forated, wavy, louvered, pin and offset strip. This technique allows a
swirling and disturbed fluid flows and consequently a great exchange
between fluid particles in the whole channel volume [3].
From the different types of fins cited previously, the plain plate is
the widely used for its durability, simplicity, versatility in applications
and lower pressure drop. However, the wavy or corrugated fins ensure
higher thermal performance than the plain plate since they increase the
length of the flow path and enhance the mixing, but with higher
pressure drop [4].
According to the direction of rotating axes, i.e. when the main flow
longitudinal or transversal, respectively. The longitudinal vortex gen-
erators (LVGs) are found to be very efficient to enhance the heat
transfer in fin-tube and plate-fin heat exchangers [5–7]. Biswas et al.
[8] reported in their study that the heat transfer may be enhanced by
about 240% in the zone behind the cylinder with the presence of a
winglet LVG.
Others researchers investigated the hydraulic and thermal char-
acteristics of VGs in various heat exchangers, such as plate-fin heat
exchanger [9–12], plate-fin and tube heat exchanger [13–15], fin and
flat tube heat exchanger [16], shell and tube heat exchanger under
different baffle arrangements [17], ducts with various cross-sectional
shapes [18–22], and electronic chips [23–27].
Khoshvaght-Aliabadi et al. [1] assessed experiments on the thermo-
hydraulic performance of copper–water nanofluid flow through various
plate-fin channels, including: pin, vortex generator, offset strip, wavy,
louvered, plain and perforated. Their results showed an enhancement in
heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop with the rise of nano-
particles weight fraction. They reported also that the vortex generator
channels have given the appropriate thermal–hydraulic performance. In

∗
Corresponding author. Department of Technology, Institute of Science and Technology, University Center Salhi Ahmed of Naâma (Ctr Univ Naâma), P.B. 66, 45000, Algeria.
∗∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: boukhadia.karima@univ-usto.dz (K. Boukhadia), h.ameur@mail.cuniv-naama.dz (H. Ameur).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2017.12.025
Received 8 August 2017; Received in revised form 2 November 2017; Accepted 21 December 2017
1290-0729/ © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
K. Boukhadia et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180

another paper [2] for water fluid, these authors obtained the optimal Table 1
performance with wavy channels at low Reynolds numbers. And com- All cases studied.
pared to the typical wavy plate-fins (WPFs), Khoshvaght-Aliabadi et al.
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5
[28] obtained a thermal performance of 1.26 with the winged WPF at
the highest waviness aspect ratio and at low Reynolds number. A channel A channel equipped with rectangular baffles
Khoshvaght-Aliabadi et al. [29] studied the effect of delta-winglets without without With With With circular
baffles perforation rectangular triangular perforation
under different arrangements. For the plain tube and at the transitional
perforation perforation
flow, they observed a good prediction of Nusselt number by the Notter-
Rouse equation than the Gnielinski equation. Compared to the plain
tube, they found a maximum PEC (performance evaluation criterion) of wall temperature is fixed at Tw = −6.5 °C. The length L of channel is
1.41 with this VG at Re = 8715. 300 mm and its width is A = B = 12 mm. The length and width of each
For water and cu-water fluids flowing at Reynolds number varying baffle is a = b = 5 mm and the thickness of each one is 1 mm. Six
between 5200 and 12,200, Khoshvaght-Aliabadi et al. [30] studied the ranges of baffles are inserted and the distance l between two con-
effect of pitch, length and width of delta-winglet VGs on the perfor- secutives ranges is 20 mm. As shown in Fig. 1, the flow is described in a
mance of a tubular heat exchanger. Compared to the smooth tube, they coordinate system (x, y, z) in which the spanwise direction is z-direc-
found a maximum PEC of 1.83 with the Cu-water nanofluid at the tion, the normal direction is y-direction, and the flow direction
winglets-width ratio of 0.6 for the maximum Reynolds number, ac- (streamwise direction) is x-direction.
companied by an increase in pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient The effect of baffles with/without perforations is investigated. As
by about 2.03 times and 1.24 times, respectively. In another paper [31], summarized in Table 1, five cases are studied (Fig. 2). The flow is la-
they explored the influence of longitudinal spacing among delta- minar and Reynolds number is ranging from 0.1 to 150. Extended re-
winglets in VG channels with water and Al2O3/water nanofluid (NF). gions were added at the inlet and the outlet sections of the tube to
They found an enhancement in heat transfer rates by about 10% to 50% ensure the fully developed flow at the inlet, and to avoid the appear-
for water and by 8.5% to 17.6% in NF. ance of reversed flows at the outlet [47].
The recirculation flow formed in the downstream zone of VGs cre-
ates hot points in this area. This great issue may be solved by using 3. Governing equations
perforated baffles [32–34]. With experiments, Chamoli [35] showed
the great heat transfer enhancement for a rectangular channel equipped All investigations were performed via numerical simulations. The
with V-down perforated baffles. The number of holes influences highly working fluid has a shear thinning behavior (the flow behavior index
on the flow fields and heat transfer rates, and two perforated baffles n = 0.69 and the density is ρ = 997 kg/m3), modeled by the Otwald law
perform better that one baffle, as reported by Ary et al. [36]. The study (power law) as follows:
achieved by Sheikholeslami et al. [37] for air to water heat exchangers
τ = μ γ· n
a (1)
by using perforated circular rings reveals an increase in the thermal
efficiency with increased numbers of holes, but increased Reynolds where μa is the apparent viscosity and γ· is the shear rate.
number and pitch ratio yields a decrease in heat transfer rates. A re-
μa = kγ· n − 1 (2)
duced pressure drop may be also obtained with baffles equipped with
perforations [38–41]. Sahel et al. [42] investigated the performance of where k is the consistency index. All cases simulated are considered
a perforated baffle having a row of four holes placed at three different continuous and steady state. The viscous dissipation is negligible.
locations (the so called pores axis ratio, PAR), namely PAR = 0.190, In this paper, we interested to the cooling of complex non-
0.425 and 0.660. The obtained results revealed that the case with Newtonian fluids. Usually, these fluids are encountered in industrial
PAR = 0.190 performs better than the other ones. Using the combina- applications under laminar flow conditions, as reported by Azevedo
tion between inclined and perforated baffles participates to the reduc- et al. [48]. So, the convective heat transfer is studied for low Reynolds
tion of lower heat transfer areas, as reported by several authors numbers.
[43–46]. The boundary conditions of the computational domain are defined
Our search in the literature suggests that the effect of the shape of as follows:
perforation in PFHEs have not yet been studied, especially for viscous
complex and non-Newtonian fluids. Therefore, the present paper dis-
cusses the thermal and pressure drop performance in PFHEs under
• At the inlet of channel (Inlet condition):
various operating conditions. With a shear thinning fluid, effects of the uy = uz = 0; ux = uin = cste; T = Tin = 52°C (3)
shape of perforation in baffles are investigated.
where u is the velocity and T is the temperature of fluid.

• Lower and upper surfaces (wall condition):

2. Definition of the problem

A hot shear thinning fluid (CMC solution) is flowing through a u x = u y = uz = 0; T = Twall = −6.5°C;
∂T
=0
rectangular channel with an inlet temperature Tin = 52 °C (Fig. 1). The ∂z (4)

• Right and left sides (symmetry condition):

∂T
u x = u y = uz = 0; =0
∂x (5)

• Exit of channel (outlet condition):

∂u x ∂u y ∂uz ∂T
= = = 0; =0
∂x ∂x ∂x ∂x (6)

Fig. 1. Geometry simulated. • Baffles: adiabatic walls.

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K. Boukhadia et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180

Fig. 2. The different shapes of baffles studied.

On the basis of these assumptions, the governing equations for the u in2−n D hn ρ
Reg =
mathematical model are written as follows: k (16)

- Conservation of mass for fluid 4LAc

Dh =
At (17)
∂
(ρu i) = 0
∂x i (7) where Ac is the minimum cross sectional flow area.

- Conservation of momentum for fluid 4. Numerical method

∂ ∂ ⎛ ∂uk ⎞ ∂p
(ρu i uk ) = ⎜ μ − ⎟
The computer tool Ansys ICEM CFD (version 16.0) was used to
∂x i ∂x i ⎝ a ∂x i ⎠ ∂xk (8)
create the geometry and to mesh the computational domain (Fig. 3). A
tetrahedral mesh type was adopted. Ansys CFX (version 16.0) was
- Conservation of energy for fluid employed to achieve all simulations.
∂ ∂ ⎛ k f ∂T ⎞ An increased mesh density was created near the baffles and walls of
(ρu i T ) = ⎜ ⎟ channel in order to capture the details of boundary layer flow. A suf-
∂x i ∂x i ⎝ Cp ∂x i ⎠ (9)
ficient amount of nodes defining the curvature of the perforation in
where Cp is the specific heat of working fluids. In compact surface baffles was created on the baffle edge, which resulted in a very refined
terminologies, the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop are mesh. Mesh tests were achieved (Table 2) by verifying that additional
usually expressed in terms of dimensionless factors. Two well-known cells did not change the performance factor (J/F) by more than 2.5%.
dimensionless parameters, Colburn factor, j, and Fanning friction To check the grid independency, the number of grids was increased
factor, f, were used to describe the heat transfer performance and by a factor of about 2. The original three-dimensional mesh of the
pressure drop characteristics: computational domain had 225,056 cells. Then, the number of cells was
increased from 225,056 cells to 450,104 cells. The additional cells
h 2
j= Pr 3 changed the performance factor by more than 3%. Thus, the number of
ρuCp (10)
cells was changed from 450,104 cells to 900,208 cells and then to
2Δp D h 1,800,416 cells. From the 3rd mesh, the additional cells did not change
f= the performance factor by more than 2.5%. Therefore, 900,208 cells
ρu2 L (11)
were employed for the following computations.
where Pr is the Prandtl number, Dh is the hydraulic diameter and h is The used computer code is based on the finite volume method
the convective heat transfer coefficient, given by:
Qconv
h=
At (Tw − Tb) LMTD (12)
where At is the total heat transfer area and Qconv is the convective heat
transfer rate expressed as follows:
Qconv = mCp (Tb,out − Tb,in ) (13)
where m is the mass flow rate, Tb,in and Tb,out are the average tem-
perature of fluid at the inlet and outlet of test section, respectively. (Tw -
Tb)LMTD is the log mean temperature difference given by:
ΔTw−b,in − ΔTw−b,out
(Tw − Tb) LMTD =
log ( ΔTw−b,in
ΔTw−b,out ) (14)
where ΔTw-b,in and ΔTw-b,out denote the differences between the wall
temperature and the bulk fluid temperature at the inlet and outlet of
heat transfer section.
The Δp is the pressure difference between inlet and outlet defined
as:
Δp = pav,in − pav,out (15)
where subscripts ‘av, in’ and ‘av, out’ refer to the average pressure
values at the inlet and outlet cross sections. The generalized Reynolds
Fig. 3. Mesh grids (tetrahedral elements).
number (Reg) for a shear thinning fluid is given by:

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K. Boukhadia et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180

Table 2
Details on mesh tests.

M1 M2 M3 M4

Number of cells 225,056 450,104 900,208 1,800,416

J/F 0.02881 0.03105 0.03311 0.03366
Time required [seconde] 6125 11589 19256 32568

(FVM) to solve the governing equations. For the pressure-velocity

coupling, the SIMPLE (Semi Implicit Method for Pressure Linked
Equation) algorithm was employed. In the momentum and energy
equations, the diffusion term was approximated by the second order
central difference scheme which gives a stable solution. Also, a second-
order upwind scheme was adopted for the discretization of convection
terms. The above mentioned governing equations were solved by a
segregated implicit iterative scheme. The under-relaxation factors were
0.3, 0.7, and 0.8 for the pressure, momentum and energy, respectively.
We remind that these factors are used to ensure the computational
convergence. Other authors [49] used these values of under-relaxation
factors for the simulation of plate-fn heat exchangers and they found
satisfactory results. The residual target for the continuity, momentum
and energy equations was 10−7. The governing equations were itera-
tively solved until the set residuals were obtained or when they stabi-
lized at constant values. Most simulations required about 1300–1500
iterations.

5. Results and discussion

In the first step and before beginning our investigation, a validation

test was performed. Our search in the literature revealed that the only
baffles arrangement similar to our work is that of Khoshvaght-Alibadi
et al. [49]. However, these authors studied the effect of baffle shape
(rectangular, triangular and trapezoidal), but the baffles used are not
perforated. In our paper, we studied the effect of the shape of per-
foration in a rectangular baffle. So, for the validation, we have chosen
the case of a rectangular baffle as those undertaken by Khoshvaght-
Alibadi and his co-workers. For different values of Reynolds number,
the variation of pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient through the
channel are predicted and presented on Fig. 4a and b, respectively. We
note that the working fluid considered in this case is Newtonian (water,
Pr = 7) and the baffles are without perforations (named as Case 2 in our
paper). A good agreement is observed when comparing our predicted
results with those obtained by Khoshvaght-Alibadi and his co-workers
(both experimentally and numerically). Furthermore, our investigation
is performed within the range of Re from 0.1 to 50, and the validation is
performed in the Re from 500 to 1900 (i.e. Re is in the laminar regime).
So, the numerical method is proved to be accurate for the following
calculations.
5.1. Flow structure
Before the illustration of the thermal aspect of each case studied in
this work, it is necessary to understand the dynamic behavior of these
configurations. It is known that the passage over a simple baffle, the
flow separates at a principal zone located at the top of the baffle which
is called the zone of reattachment where the speed of fluid particle is
very high. This phenomenon appears clearly in case 2 of Fig. 5, the
reattachment zone presents a better heat transfer coefficient due to the
fluctuation of velocity and the turbulence intensity. The second zone,
which is named as the zone of secondary recirculation, is located be-
hind the baffle and it is due to the separation of flow at the edge of the
baffle. The flow recirculation zone presents a major problem on the
thermal transfer execution due to the insertion of baffles in the channel
heat exchangers. In order to correct this problem, different shapes of
perforated baffles were examined in this work. Where, the use of a
Fig. 4. Variation of (a) pressure drop, (b) heat transfer coefficient vs. Reynolds number:
comparison of our results with other experimental and predicted values.
perforated space in the baffles helps to minimize the formation of the
zones of flow recirculation behind baffles [42]. Cases 3, 4 and 5 in
Figs. 5 and 6 confirm the thermal and dynamic effectiveness of perfo-
rated space in the baffles.
In order to recognize in detail the effect of the perforated baffles on
the thermal performance of heat exchanger, Fig. 7 presents cross sec-
tions of the velocity behind the baffles. This figure clearly explains the
effect of pores on the reduction of the stagnated zones or the lowers
heat transfer areas (LHTA). The passage of the flow through the pores
agitates the LHTA and it increases the thermal transfer coefficient
consequently.
5.2. Heat transfer
For the better evaluation, an understanding of the flow behavior
inside these channels (5 cases) is essential. Therefore, a good insight
into the flow physics is obtained by analyzing the velocity field and
streamlines in the fluid around and into perforation of the wings. In
addition, to present detailed information about the locations of high
heat transfer rates, the temperature distribution in the fluid is presented
in Fig. 8. The temperature distribution in this figure is presented on a
XY plane passing through the perforation (i.e. Z* = Z/A = 0.5).

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K. Boukhadia et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180

Fig. 5. Contours of velocity [m/s] for Reg = 150.

Fig. 6. Streamlines of velocity [m/s] for Reg = 150.

For the unbaffled channel (Case 1), the cooling of fluid requires a
long distance. However, the heat transfer is greatly enhanced with the
presence of baffles. The comparison between Case 1 and 5 in Fig. 8
show the effective cooling of shear thinning fluid by the circular per-
forated baffle. For the same length of channel, the lowest temperatures
obtained are 291 K and 267 K for Case 1 and 5, respectively. This
finding is clearly observed in Fig. 9.
The first reason of the heat transfer enhancement in this system is
the perforation shape in baffle, which enhances the mixing by
separating the boundary layer in the channel. And the second reason is
the repeated operation of growth and wake destruction of boundary
layers.
In the addition of the pressure drop which is due to the formation of
flow recirculation and the change in the flow direction, there is another
issue which is the formation of hot points near the walls. The presence
of hot points reduces the heat transfer execution of the plate fin heat
exchanger.
In Fig. 9, the distribution of the temperature along the channel

176
K. Boukhadia et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180

Fig. 7. Distribution of velocity [m/s] in transversal sections.

Fig. 8. Temperature distribution [°K] for Reg = 20, on a XY plane passing through the perforation (i.e. Z* = Z/A = 0.5).

177
K. Boukhadia et al.
Fig. 9. Variations of temperature along the channel centerline (i.e. Z* = Z/A = 0), at
Reg = 15.
length is illustrated for all cases studied. It is appear clearly that the
presence of baffles enhance the cooling of the shear thinning fluid. Also,
the presence of perforation in baffles permits further reduction in the
temperature along the heat exchanger. Furthermore, the circular shape
of perforation allows obtaining the lowest temperature in cooling,
which is found here to be 267 K. Consequently, the perforated baffle
with circular shape merits to be considered in the conception of the
plate fin heat exchanger.
The variation of Nusselt number (Nu) for various Reynolds numbers
ranged from 0 to 20 for all geometrical configurations is shown in
Fig. 10. It is appear clearly that the values of Nusselt number tend to
augment with the rise of Reynolds numbers, which induces an im-
provement in the heat transfer coefficients in the PFHE. A significant
enhancement in heat transfer coefficient is observed for Case 5 (baffle
with circular pores), followed by the rectangular pores (Case 3), tri-
angular pores (Case 4) and finally the baffles without perforation (Case
2).
5.3. Pressure drop
Habitually, the raise in heat transfer by the baffling technique
generates pressure losses. The effects of different perforated baffles on
Fig. 10. Nusselt number for different cases.
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180
Fig. 11. Pressure drop for different Reg and cases.
the pressure drop values are presented on Fig. 11. This figure shows the
variation of pressure drop which tends to increase with the rise of the
Reynolds number.
In fact, the baffled channels with or without perforation in baffles
yield higher pressure drop than the unbaffled channel. Also, the per-
forated baffle has lower pressure drop than the baffle without per-
foration. However, the difference in Δp is little since the Reynolds
number is low. Fig. 12 shows the pressure drop for the rectangular
shape of perforation is slightly lower than that of the circular shape.
This is mainly due to the surface of cut in baffle.
5.4. Performance factor
The variation of thermal performance factor for fluid flowing in
PFHE with baffles perforated under different shapes is shown in Fig. 13.
In this figure, the performance factor is superior than 1 for all cases.
Hence, the baffle with a perforated space is generally an efficient
technique to enhance the thermal performance in the PFHEs. As a best
case selected in this study, the baffle with circular pores assured the
highest performance factor. The enhancement factor is equal to 2.14,
for Reg = 20. The performance factors for Case 2, 3 and 4 are 1.41, 1.57
and 1.46, respectively.
Fig. 12. Pressure drop for Reg = 20.
K. Boukhadia et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 126 (2018) 172–180

Table 4
Correlation for the prediction of Nusselt number depending on the shape of perforation in
2.0 baffles.
(J/F)/(J/F)unbaffled

Nusselt number prediction, Nu = C1 [C2. Ln(Reg ) + 1]

1.5
Cases 1 2 3 4 5

C1 1.331 0.828 0.500 0.832 1.402

C2 0.175 0.160 0.100 0.185 0.300
1.0
R2 0.99 0.97 0.99 0.97 0.99

0.5 • The presence of baffles (with or without perforations) enhances

0.0
2 3
Case
Fig. 13. Performance factor for Reg = 20.
The comparison between the rectangular and circular perforations
(Case 3 and 5, respectively) reveals the superiority of circular per-
foration in terms of enhancement in heat transfer with just a slight
difference in pressure drop. There is a relatively small change in geo-
metry, but it leads to large changes in the heat transfer rates. This is due
to the curved shape which allows an easy passage of fluid particles
through the perforation accompanied with a rotation of fluid, resulting
thus in intensified interaction between fluids particles and enhanced
heat transfer. However, the sharp corner of rectangular shape does not
allow this advantage of rotation of fluid particles. The same remark is
reported for the triangular perforation, which limits strongly the pas-
sage of fluid particles, giving thus less thermal performance when
compared to the rectangular or circular perforations.
5.5. Correlations
New correlations for the prediction of friction factor and Nusselt
number depending on Reynolds number and the shape of perforation in
baffles have been developed and presented on Tables 3 and 4, respec-
tively. The accuracy of the suggested correlations has been checked, as
shown on the third line of Tables 3 and 4 These correlations may be
useful for the user to predict the values of f and Nu in such heat ex-
changer systems without additional effort and experiments.
6. Conclusion
A three dimensional numerical method was used to investigate the
performance of plate fin heat exchangers. The working medium is a
viscous and complex non-Newtonian fluid having a shear thinning be-
havior. To enhance the heat transfer inside the device, rectangular
baffles were inserted. Effects of the presence of perforation in the baf-
fles were investigated. Also, the influence of perforation shape (rec-
tangular, triangular and circular) on the thermo-hydraulic character-
istics was considered. The main conclusions are summarized as follows:
substantially the heat transfer, but with an additional energy cost.
• The perforated baffles have revealed a great enhancement in heat
transfer, compared to the channel heat exchanger with not-perfo-
4 5 rated baffles.
• The value of heat transfer coefficient enhances with circular per-
forations in baffles first then in rectangular shape of perforation and
triangular ones on second and third, respectively.
• Pressure drop increases with the presence of baffles and decreases
with the rise of the surface of cut in baffles. However and at low
Reynolds number, the difference is pressure drop is slight between
the not-perforated baffles and all shapes of perforation.
• The circular perforated baffle is recommended for use, since it
provides a considerable enhancement in heat transfer (TPF = 2.14)
than the unbaffled channel heat exchanger.
Nomenclature
A Width of channel in y direction m
a height of baffle m
Ac The minimum cross sectional flow area m2
At Total surface area in contact with working fluid m2
B Width of channel in z direction m
b Width of baffle m
Dh Hydraulic diameter, Dh = (4 L Ac)/(At) m
h Effective heat transfer coefficient W m−2 K−1
k Consistency index Pa sn
L Length of channel m
l Distance between two consecutives ranges of baffles m
m Mass flow rate Kg s−1
n Power law index
Δp Pressure drop Pa
Qconv Convective heat transfer rate W
T Temperature K
Tin Inlet temperature K
Tw Wall temperature K
Tb,in, Tb,out The average temperature of fluid at the inlet and outlet of
test section K
(Tw - Tb)LMTD log mean temperature difference K
ΔTw-b, in Differences between the wall temperature and the bulk fluid
temperature at the inlet of heat transfer section K
ΔTw-b, out Differences between the wall temperature and the bulk fluid
temperature at outlet of heat transfer section K
u Mean velocity m s−1
Greek symbols

Table 3
μa Apparent viscosity Pa s
Correlation for the prediction of friction factor depending on the shape of perforation in
baffles. ρ Density kg m−3
·γ Shear rate s−1
Friction factor prediction, f = C(Shape). Reg0.5402 Cp Specific heat J kg−1 K−1
kf Thermal conductivity W m−1 K−1
Cases 1 2 3 4 5 Dimensionless groups
C(Shape) 2.224 2.748 2.708 2.753 2.733
R2 0.98 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99
f Fanning friction factor
j Colburn factor

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K. Boukhadia et al.
Nu Nusselt number
Pr Prandtl number
Re Reynolds number
Acronyms
CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics
CMC Carboxy Methyl Cellulose
VG Vortex generator
PFHEs Plate-fin heat exchangers
LVGs Longitudinal Vortex Generators
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