Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics of Spiral Fin-And-tube Heat Exchangers A Review - Pongsoi

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 79 (2014) 417431
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt
Review
Heat transfer and ow characteristics of spiral n-and-tube heat

exchangers: A review
Parinya Pongsoi a, Santi Pikulkajorn b, Somchai Wongwises a,
a
Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow Research Lab. (FUTURE), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkuts University
of Technology Thonburi, Bangmod, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
b
Somchai Industry Co., Ltd, Bangkok 10150, Thailand
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 6 March 2014
Received in revised form 21 July 2014
Accepted 22 July 2014
Available online 29 August 2014
Keywords:
Review
Spiral n
Heat transfer
Flow
Performance
Heat exchanger
Extended surface
a b s t r a c t
In the present study, an attempt has been made to summarize and analyze the results of an examination
of the air-side performance of spiral (or helical) n-and-tube heat exchangers. Currently, the spiral nand-tube heat exchanger is a favored type of heat exchanger for the waste heat recovery unit (WHRU),
a kind of economizer system. The present paper is broadly divided into an experimental section and
numerical and simulation sections. A signicant fraction of the papers herein reviewed pertains to the
effect of n congurations, tube arrangements, operating conditions, and other factors on the air-side
performance of the spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers. Approximately 40 published articles related to
spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers are briey described. Moreover, the air-side performance correlations of spiral n and circular n-and-tube heat exchangers are compiled into this work for practical
industrial applications.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Contents
1.
2.
3.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Experimental works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.
Effects of fin pitch, fin thickness, fin material, fin pattern, fin alignment, and fin outside diameter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1.
Conventional spiral fin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.2.
Serrated spiral fin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.3.
Crimped spiral fin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.4.
L-footed spiral fin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.
Effects of number of tube rows, tube arrangement, tube diameter, longitudinal tube pitch, and transverse tube pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.1.
2.2.2.
2.2.3.
2.2.4.
L-footed spiral fin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.
Effects of operating conditions, and others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1.
2.3.2.
2.3.3.
Numerical and simulation works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.
Effects of fin pitch, fin thickness, fin material, fin pattern, fin alignment, and fin outside diameter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.1.
3.2.
Effects of number of tube rows, tube arrangement, tube diameter, longitudinal tube pitch, and transverse tube pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 24709115.

E-mail address: somchai.won@kmutt.ac.th (S. Wongwises).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2014.07.072
0017-9310/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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P. Pongsoi et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 79 (2014) 417431
3.3.
Effects of operating conditions and others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.3.1.
4.
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conflict of interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
427
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427
429
429
429
429
Nomenclature
Amin
Ao
cc
cs
df
dh
do
Eu
f
Fo
fh
fp
ft
h
j
LMTD
m
Nrow
Nu
PD
PL
PT
Pr
Q
Rd
Redc
Redh
Redo
Ri
minimum free ow area, m2

total surface area, m2
correlation of circular n-and-tub heat exchanger
correlation of spiral n-and-tub heat exchanger
n outside diameter, m
hydraulic diameter, m
tube outside diameter, m
Euler number, dimensionless
fanning friction factor, dimensionless
Fourier number, dimensionless
n height, m
n pitch, m
n thickness, m
heat transfer coefcient, W/(m2 K)
Colburn factor, dimensionless
logarithmic mean temperature difference, K
mass ow rate, kg/s
number of tube rows
Nusselt number, dimensionless
diagonal pitch, m
longitudinal tube pitch, m
transverse tube pitch, m
Prandtl number, dimensionless
heat transfer rate, W
ratio of diagonal free cross-sectional area to frontal free
cross-sectional area, dimensionless
Reynolds number based on n collar outside diameter
(dc), dimensionless
Reynolds number based on hydraulic diameter (dh),
dimensionless
Reynolds number based on tube outside diameter (do),
dimensionless
dimensionless group used in correlation for in-line tube
bundles, dimensionless
1. Introduction
A heat exchanger is thermal equipment, which is built for efcient heat transfer between two uids of different temperatures.
Many types of heat exchangers are used in industrial processes.
The survey found that one of the favorable kinds of heat exchangers was the n-and-tube heat exchanger.
About three quarters of a century ago, a paper of Harper and
Brown [1] was referenced as an NACA report. It was an excellent
work on the interesting interplay between convective and conductive heat transfer in an extended surface. They called this surface a
cooling n, which later became known merely as a n, as
reported in [2]. Fin-and-tube heat exchangers are widely used in
a variety of applications in the waste heat recovery units (WHRU),
HVAC&R systems, and other units and systems. The International
Energy Agency (IEA) and Industrial Energy-related Technologies
and Systems (IETS) presented a report on the topic of Industrial
Excess Heat Recovery Technologies & Applications in 2010 [3].
SD
ST
T
T
Tdew
Twi
Vfr
w
W
x
Zo
Ztotal
diagonal ow area, m2
transversal area, m2
temperature, K
ratio temperature, dimensionless
dew point temperature, K
inlet water temperature, K
air frontal velocity, m/s
humidity ratio, dimensionless
ratio of heat transfer area of a row of tubes to frontal
free ow area, dimensionless
ratio of dust-air mixture, dimensionless
air-side thermal resistance at clean condition (t = 0),
K/W
total air-side thermal resistance, K/W
Greek symbols
d
dimensionless term of time
dfr
frost thickness, m
e
heat exchanger effectiveness, dimensionless
b
empirical constant, dimensionless
s
dimensionless term of temperature
DP
pressure drop, Pa
n1
heat exchanger performance index, W/Pa
n2
system performance index, W/Pa
n3
dimensionless system performance index, dimensionless
Subscripts
a
air
fs
frost surface
in
inlet
tp
tube plate
w
water
Fig. 1 illustrates the relation between energy uses and energy

losses in energy systems across 16 industrial sectors in the United
States (US) [3]. It can be seen that ve industrial sectors (petroleum
rening, chemicals, forest products, iron and steel, and food and
beverage) cover the energy inputs to energy systems by more than
80%. The energy loss in these ve industries totals about 15% of the
energy consumption in US industry. As can be seen, the worlds
thermal power depends mainly on fuel. Thus, the importance of
energy saving and energy efciency is dramatically growing thanks
to globalization. In order to delay global warming, one of energysaving approaches has been to use the economizer. It is absolutely
necessary that this equipment be used to recover heat. The economizer is a mechanical device used to reduce energy loss by recycling energy produced within a system. Consequently, this
equipment has an important effect on energy use trends in each
industrial sector, as shown in detail in Fig. 1. It can be seen that
the effect of potential energy savings from using an economizer
has been signicant in consumption of energy from fuel in the
419
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Fig. 1. Energy uses and energy losses in the energy systems of United States (US) (data from [3]).
US. The economizer can improve cost savings and cost-effectiveness. It also can help us see the worlds primary mode of energy
consumption. Understanding the relative signicance of energy
systems in each industrial sector is a key to identifying energy savings opportunities and strategies for implementation, such as
recovery of excess heat by economizer systems. This reviewed
work would like to add the concepts about energy savings
supported by economizers. For the sample case, during the combustion process in stream boilers or hot oil boilers, waste heat in
the exhaust gas or ue gas passes along a recuperator (i.e., air-side
economizer). The economizer will preheat the inlet uid for the
boiler, as shown in Fig. 2. The air-side economizer will generally
be more energy-efcient than the water-side economizer [4]. Thus,
an economizer is a device to increase a boilers efciency. Moreover, it is also useful for applications from small-sized equipment,
such as electronic components, to large-scale equipment employed
in vehicles, aircraft, and heavy industries. This reects the fact that
the heat transfer enhancement technology is a fundamental component of high-efciency design.
The primary interest is to determine how the extended surface
(i.e., the n) will enhance the air-side heat transfer performance of
this kind of heat exchanger. It is very important to consider the
heat transfer rate (heating or cooling), which is normally limited
by the thermal resistance on the air side of the heat exchanger.
Improving the n geometry or n pattern is one way to augment
the heat transfer rate of the n-and-tube heat exchanger, but this
method may require more fan power because of the loss associated
with the pressure drop. In order to solve the aforementioned problems, nding the optimized n conguration would be valuable in
designing and creating the heat exchanger. In addition, we must
realize that the effect of n congurations, tube arrangements,
and operating conditions has signicance for the air-side heat
transfer performance and ow characteristics of n-and-tube heat

exchangers. Until now, many researchers have investigated those
effects of plain ns, wavy ns, louver ns, slit ns, compounded
ns, circular (or annular) ns, and several spiral ns on the air-side
performance. Currently, the spiral n-and-tube heat exchanger
earns its popularity in waste heat recovery system applications,
as shown in Fig. 3. This is because of the easy manufacturing process of the spiral n, which is quite common in industrial services.
The conventional spiral n is a simple type of the spiral ns. The
main difference between the conventional spiral n with several
spiral n types is that the feature of n base. Fig. 4 can elucidate
the shape of conventional spiral n. The tube surface at the base
of conventional spiral n is not covered by the n, leading to the
risk of tube corrosion. Furthermore, the shape of conventional
spiral n is mostly similar to the circular n congurationthis
work, for instance, has also included some details of the circular
n for the sake of completeness. The research works in the eld
of the spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers are approximately 40
published articles [542].
As mentioned above, there are many reasons leading to interest
in the spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers. Therefore, this present
study will focus on reviewing articles for the spiral n-and-tube
heat exchangers, which has never before been seen in the published
literature. In addition, detailed descriptions of the schematic diagram of the economizer and the photos of the spiral n pattern will
be shown in Fig. 5. Especially, this present review paper is comprised of comprehensive lists of the experimental section, as well
as numerical and simulation sections, to investigate the open literature for researchers and engineers in the eld of the spiral n-andtube heat exchangers. The present study has managed the group of
the n pitch, n thickness, n material, n pattern, number of tube
rows, tube arrangement, tube diameter, longitudinal tube pitch, and
420
Firebox
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the boiler with economizer system.
Spiral finned tube
Fig. 3. Spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers in various congurations.
transverse tube pitch effects. Fig. 6 shows the geometric parameters

and schematic diagrams of the n pitch (fp), n thickness (ft), n
material, and n outside diameter (df), number of tube rows (Nrow),
tube inside diameter (di), tube outside diameter (do), longitudinal
tube pitch (PL), and transverse tube pitch (PT) of spiral n-and-tube
heat exchanger. This investigation is support to real applications in
industries. Finally, and probably most importantly, the authors also
gather information about air-side heat transfer performance correlations for heat exchanger designers.
2. Experimental works
2.1. Effects of n pitch, n thickness, n material, n pattern, n
alignment, and n outside diameter
2.1.1. Conventional spiral n
Hamakawa et al. [5] studied the effects of n pitches (fp) on the
spiral-nned tube bank on the pressure drop characteristics. The
spiral n seems to have a greater heat transfer coefcient than
421
Conventional spiral fin
Tube
Base of fin
x
Tube
Conventional spiral fin
Conventional spiral finned tube
Fig. 4. Schematic diagram for tube, conventional spiral n, and conventional spiral nned tube.
Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of economizer and the photos of the spiral nned tube.
PL
Inlet
df
A
Outlet
Air flow
df
( N row = 2)
d o di
Outlet
Inlet
ft
fp
( N row = 2)
( N row = 3)
Inlet
Inlet
( N row = 4)
PL
Section A-A
Fin pitch (fp)
Fin thickness (ft)
Fin outside diameter (df),
Number of tube rows (Nrow)
( N row = 5,6,7...)
Inlet
df
Tube inside diameter (di)

Tube outside diameter (do)
Longitudinal tube pitch (PL)
Transverse tube pitch (PT)
Outlet
Outlet
Outlet
Fig. 6. Schematic diagrams for the n pitch (fp), n thickness (ft), n material, and n outside diameter (df), number of tube rows (Nrow), tube inside diameter (di), tube outside
diameter (do), longitudinal tube pitch (PL), and transverse tube pitch (PT) of spiral n-and-tube heat exchanger.
422
Table 1
Air-side performance correlations for spiral n-and-tub heat exchangers.
Spiral (or helical) n-and-tube heat exchangers
Authors
-year-
Fin types
Surface
condition
Correlations
Range of parameters/
comment
Nuntaphan et al. [18,19]

-2005-
Crimped spiral n
Dry and wet
j Colburn factor and f friction factor correlations

Dry surface
(Staggered tube arrangement)
!0:1452
ft
fp ft
0:2679
f 2:1768 Redo
ft
fp ft
PL
PT
!0:2468
PL
PT
0:8238 0:0010
df
PT
do
do
1:8680
PT
do
0:3011 0:4470
df
do
(In-line tube arrangement)
ft
fp ft
0:0637
j 3:9048 104 Redo
ft
fp ft
0:4172
f 0:1635 Redo
!0:8363
!0:5215
PL
PT
PL
PT
1:9926
1:2235
PT
do
PT
do
2:2810 2:172
df
do
0:6334 1:2000
df
do
Wet surface
(Staggered tube arrangement)
j 0:0208 Rem
do
do
PT
2:5950
ft
fp ft
!0:7905
PL
PT
0:2391 0:2761
do
df
where
m 0:2871 0:5322
0:5636
f 17:02 Redo
Genic et al. [27]

-2006-
Conventional spiral
n
Dry
do
PT
do
PT
1:2856
0:3956
ft
fp ft
ft
fp ft
!0:3728
0:1845
PL
PT
PL
PT
1:2804 0:1738
do
df
Dry surface
Staggered tube
N row 4
V fr 0:51:5 m=s
do 21:727:2 mm
f p 3:256:50 mm
P T 5084 mm
P L 24:248:2 mm
Inline tube
N row 4
V fr 0:51:5 m=s
do 17:327:2 mm
f p 3:256:50 mm
P T 5071:4 mm
Wet surface
Staggered tube
N row 4
V fr 0:51:5 m=s
do 21:727:2 mm
f p 3:256:50 mm
P T 5084 mm
P L 24:248:2 mm
f friction factor correlations

Staggered tube arrangement
0:43
2:7
17:7
0:3
Redo
530
Staggered tube
!
W
0:8
R0:3
d ;
!
W
Re0:3
do
1:8
R4d ;
Densely-packed
In-line tube arrangement
0:4
8:5
0:3
Redo
Normal
!
W 0:75 R0:7
i
For normal
Redo 550130; 000
P T =do 6 3:5
P L =do 6 3:5; Rd P 1
For denely packed
Redo 510029; 000
Rd < 1
In line tube
Redo 6000200; 000
Ri 0:52
0:1295
j 0:1970 Redo
1:1874
Nuntaphan and Kiatsiriroat

[20]
-2007-
Crimped spiral n
Wet
Z Air-side thermal resistance correlation

Z total
Zo
1
1 ebt
Z total Z o Z f
where
b 8:5523 1014 d1:2693 x3:7617 sa
md
t
; d
;
ma
t total
b
fs
ft
Staggered tube
f p 3:256:5 mm
ma 0:140:26 kg=s
f s =f t 7:12515:250
T ai T dew
T ai T wi

fs
f
0:32754d s
ft
ft
N row 4
b 4:1118 4:2367s 338:03sx

and
Tdew = Dew point temperature
Ztotal = Total air-side thermal resistance
Zo = Air-side thermal resistance at clean condition (t = 0)
Naess [17]
-2010-
Serrated spiral n
Dry
Nu Nusselt number and

Eu Euler number correlations
For ST/SD < 1
1=3
Nu 0:107 Re0:65
do Pr
PT
do 2f t
!0:14
0:263
0:13
0:2
fp ft
df do 2f t
df do 2f

do 2f t
do 2f
fp ft
For ST/SD > 1
Staggered tube
1=3
Nu 0:141 Re0:65

do Pr
!
0:13
S
3:23 S t
df do 2f t
d
0:43 9:75 e

do 2f t
!0:14
0:2
fp ft
df do 2f

do 2f
fp ft
f p 4:546 mm
do 19:0731:77 mm
P T 46:190:8 mm
P L 23:150:9 mm
Eu 0:24
8:2
Re0:5
!
0:18
0:74
P
fp ft
3:24 PT
df do 2f t
L
min 1:0; 0:52 964:5 e

do 2f t
do 2f
where
ST = Transversal area
SD = Diagonal ow area
Lee et al. [6]
-2010-
Conventional spiral
n
Dry
j Colburn factor correlation

Staggered n alignment
0:5183
1:1184 Redh
0:7147
fp
N row 0:1684
dh
In-line n alignment
0:6626
0:3972 f p
j 0:3452 Redh
N row 0:2026
dh
a 5:3765 5:7671d 0:4146
d 01
x 0:00150:0200
s 0:4400:774
Redh 3401050
f p 5:012:5 mm
f t 0:2 mm
N row 15
df 24:5 mm
do 8:0 mm
P T P L 30 mm
(continued on next page)
423
424
Table 1 (continued)
Spiral (or helical) n-and-tube heat exchangers
Authors
-year-
Fin types
Surface
condition
Correlations
Range of parameters/
comment
Lee et al. [7]

-2011-
Conventional spiral
n
Frosting
Nu Nusselt number correlation
(For helical coil tube)
0:6157
Nu 0:1620 Redh
dh
fp
!0:2911
0:2404
N row
Fo0:0308
Redh 1001500
f p 5:020:0 mm
f t 0:15 mm
N row 15
where Fo = Fourier number

Pongsoi et al. [23]
-2012-
Crimped spiral n
Dry
Redo 300013000
0:4287
j 0:4132 Redo
0:1485
f 0:3775 Redo
FaJiang et al. [8]

-2012-
Conventional spiral
n
Dry
0:33
0:138 Re0:68
do Pr
Eu 2:926 Re0:228
do
L-footed spiral n
Dry
0:4321
fp
do
P T 39 mm
P L 35 mm
Nu Nusselt number and

Eu Euler number correlations
Nu
Pongsoi et al. [26]

-2013-
do 16:35 mm
f p 2:46:3 mm
N row 25
PT
do
0:263 0:194 0:168 0:132

fp
PT
PL
fh
do
do
do
do
0:475 0:138 0:325 0:212

fp
PL
fh
do
do
do
0:2156
f 0:4852 Redc
Conventional spiral
n
Frosting
P T =do 23:3
P L =do 23:3
f p =do 0:220:5
f h =do 0:220:5
Redc 400015000
dc 16:85 mm
f p 2:44:2 mm
0:4059
j 0:2150 Redc
Lee et al. [28]

-2013-
Redo 500055000
do 32 mm
N row 2
P T 39 mm
P L 35 mm
0:4771
fp
dc
dfr Frost thickness correlation
Redh 4001200
dfr 9:1251 Re0:2011

Fo0:3941 w1:1121 T
dh
1:2031
where T = Ratio temperature, (Ttp Tfs)/(Tfs Ta)

and w = Humidity ratio
do 8 mm
df 24:5 mm
f p 515 mm
P T P L 30 mm
T a;in 315 C
df 24:5 mm
do 8:0 mm
P T P L 30 mm
the circular n because of the inuence of downstream rotational

vortices. Moreover, the ow around a spiral-nned tube was
visualized by the smoke wire technique. However, signicant difference between both was not found in the experiment. It is shown
that j factor of tested spiral n is about 5% different from the circular n. This may be because the downstream rotational vortices are
diminished at high Reynolds.
Lee et al. [6] studied the air-side heat transfer performance of
spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers at a low Reynolds number.
They investigated the effect of n pitch (fp) and effect of n alignment (i.e., alignment of inline and staggered ns) on the air-side
heat transfer performance in terms of the j Colburn factor for
spiral n and tube heat exchangers. It was found that the n pitch
was correlated with the j Colburn factor. The j Colburn factor
increased with the increase of the n pitch at the same Reynolds
number. The staggered n alignment had a j Colburn factor about
13.24% higher than that of inline n alignment because of better
ow/mixing activated by the horseshoe vortex around the spiralnned tube. Their results also reported the variations of the thermal and velocity boundary layer as well as heat transfer coefcient
along the plain plate surface with air velocity considered as external ow. Additionally, they also provided both empirical correlations of the j Colburn factors and f friction factor, developed
separately for all samples within the experimental range, as shown
in Table 1. For spirally-coiled spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers
operating under frosting conditions, Lee et al. [7] reported that
the heat transfer rate (Q) increased as the n pitch decreased under
frosting conditions. The decrease in the n pitch (fp) from 20.0 to
7.5 mm, the air-side pressure drop per unit length (DP/L) increased
n pitch by about 655.7% at the elapsed time of 110 min and
903.3% at the elapsed time of 150 min. They also proposed the
air-side heat transfer performance correlation (as included in
Table 1) and the Nusselt number (Nu) increased with increasing
n pitch because the thermal and velocity boundary layers became
thinner. FaJiang et al. [8] presented Nusselt number (Nu) and Euler
number (Eu) correlations on the air-side heat transfer performance
and ow characteristics of spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers, as
shown in Table 1. The n pitches (fp) have a signicant effect on
air-side performance. It was also found that an increase in Reynolds number resulted in the enhancement of the Nusselt number
and the degradation of the Euler number.
2.1.2. Serrated spiral n
A series of these papers [913] investigated the vortex shedding
and vortex generation characteristics of serrated spiral-nned tube
banks and single n tube. The ow around the serrated spiral n
and vortex shedding from the nned tube were experimentally
investigated. Ryu et al. [14] provided extensive experimental
results for the effect of a serrated spiral-nned tube on the ow
characteristics of near-wake ow behind a circular cylinder using
a constant-temperature anemometer and ow visualization. It
was shown that the ns outside diameter and n pitch had a signicant effect on the vortex-shedding frequency. Kawaguchi et al.
[15] examined the effects of n pitches (fp) on air-side heat transfer
performance and friction characteristics of the serrated spiralnned tube. Hofmann et al. [16] published the effects of n pattern
(i.e., I-shaped and U-shaped n geometries), n pitch, n thickness,
and n outside diameter on heat transfer and ow characteristics
of serrated spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers. They suggested
that the design of optimal serrated spiral n and tube heat
exchangers must take into account the disadvantages and advantages of geometrical factors. Naess [17] experimentally investigated
the effects of n pitch and n outside diameter on the characteristics of heat transfer and pressure drop for serrated spiral nand-tube heat exchangers having staggered tube layouts. It was
indicated that the n pitch increased with increasing heat transfer
425
coefcient at the same Reynolds number. The n outside diameter,

however, had an insignicant effect on the heat transfer coefcient. In addition, this studys results were used to develop
empirical correlations in term of Nusselt number and Euler number, as shown in Table 1.
2.1.3. Crimped spiral n
The experimental data were reported by Nuntaphan et al.
[18,19]. They described the air-side heat transfer performance
and friction characteristics of crimped spiral n-and-tube heat
exchangers. Their results presented the analysis of the effects of
the tube diameters (do), n pitches (fp), transverse tube pitches
(PT), and tube arrangements (i.e., in-line tube and staggered tube
arrangements) on the air-side heat transfer performance of the
crimped spiral n heat exchanger. Furthermore, they proposed a
correlation between the Colburn factor (j) and friction factor (f)
in the case of low Reynolds numbers under dry and wet surface
conditions, as illustrated in Table 1. In addition, the heat transfer
coefcient (ho) for the dry surface was higher than that for the
wet surface. Nuntaphan and Kiatsiriroat [20] reported experimental results for the effect of y-ash deposit on thermal performance
of crimped spiral n and tube heat exchangers. It was found that
the n pitch (fp), dust-air content, and air inlet temperature have
signicant effects on the fouling of crimped spiral n and tube heat
exchangers under dehumidifying. Furthermore, the thermal-resistance correlation was proposed, as shown in Table 1. Considerable
efforts for investigating n pattern by experiment have been
reported by Tang et al. [21]. This work studied the air-side heat
transfer performance and ow characteristics of ve kinds of n
and tube heat exchangers having the number of tube rows of 12
and the tube outside diameter of 18 mm. The crimped spiral n,
plain n, slit n, vortex generators (VGs) n, and mixed n were
tested to compare the n pattern effect. It was conrmed that
the crimped spiral n provides higher air-side heat transfer performance (in terms of j Colburn factor and Nu Nusselt number)
and friction characteristics (in terms of DP-pressure drop and f
friction factor) than those of the other kind of ns. Pongsoi et al.
[22,23] was the only experimental work that examined the effects
of n pitches (fp) and n materials on the air-side heat transfer and
ow characteristics of crimped spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers
having a multipass parallel and counter cross-ow conguration at
a high Reynolds number (300013,000). The results illustrated no
signicant effect for both n pitches and n materials on the heat
transfer performance of crimped spiral n and tube heat exchangers. This may be because the high Reynolds number accentuates
good mixing, which eventually leads to a better air-side heat transfer characteristics irrespective of changes in n pitch (fp). The n
pitches do, however, have a signicant effect on the friction factor
(f). Moreover, the air-side performance correlations of crimped
spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers at a high Reynolds number
were developed for heat exchanger designers, as found in Table 1.
For analysis of optimal n pitch, Pongsoi et al. [24] applied an
experimental study to investigate the optimized n pitch for
crimped spiral n and tube heat exchangers by using three performance indices (viz., f1, f2, and f3) at a high Reynolds number. It
could be seen that the optimum n pitch is 4.2 mm (or 6 fpi).
2.1.4. L-footed spiral n
Pongsoi et al. [25,26] presented experimental results for the
effects of n outside diameter and n pitch upon the air-side heat
transfer performance and ow characteristics of L-footed spiral nand-tube heat exchangers having a multipass parallel and counter
cross-ow conguration at a high Reynolds number. It was
conrmed that the pressure drop increases when the n outside
diameter (df) increases for the same Reynolds number. And then
the n pitch has no signicant effect on the air-side heat transfer
426
performance (j Colburn factor). In contrast, the n pitch had signicant inuence on the heat transfer rate, air-side pressure drop,
and friction factor. Additionally, their correlations were proposed
in terms of the j Colburn factor and f friction factor for L-footed
spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers in the range of Reynolds numbers of 4000 to 15,000, as follows in Table 1.
2.2. Effects of number of tube rows, tube arrangement, tube diameter,
longitudinal tube pitch, and transverse tube pitch
Genic et al. [27] developed new correlations to correlate the
existing experimental data and other correlations of air pressure
drop in spirally-nned tube bundles with in-line and staggered
tube arrangements (as indicated in Table 1). New correlations
cover wide range of Reynolds numbers and geometrical parameters of helically nned tube heat exchangers. In a series of papers,
Lee et al. [6,7] also pointed out the effect of the number of tube
rows on the air-side heat transfer performance of spiral n-andtube heat exchangers and of spirally coiled n-and-tube heat
exchangers, respectively. It was found that the number of tube
rows has a signicant effect on the j Colburn factor. Thickness
of thermal and velocity boundary layers was studied as an
inuence on the air-side heat transfer performance. Lee et al.
[28] studied frost growth characteristics of helically coiled spiral
n-and-tube heat exchangers under frosting conditions. The frost
thickness and growth rate were investigated by varying the n
pitches. According to the results, the effect of n pitches is more
obvious at smaller n pitches. This may be due to the substantial
effects of the thermal and velocity boundary layers interruption
between the ns.
Hofmann et al. [29] carried out an experimental investigation
aiming at the effect of the number of tube rows on the air-side performances of serrated spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers by varying the Nrow from 2 to 8. It was conrmed that the number of tube
rows has a signicant effect on the Nusselt number (Nu). Naess
[17] investigated the effects of tube diameter, longitudinal tube
pitch, transverse tube pitch, and tube arrangement on the heat
transfer and ow characteristics for serrated spiral n-and-tube
heat exchangers. The result showed that tube arrangement has
no signicant effect on the air-side performance.
Pongsoi et al. [23] experimentally studied the effect of the number of tube rows (Nrow) on air-side performance for crimped spiral
n-and-tube heat exchangers. The pressure drop increases with an
increasing Reynolds number. The reason can be explained by the
increase in the blocking ow area which results from an increase
in the number of tube rows (Nrow).
2.2.4. L-footed spiral n
Experiments by Pongsoi et al. [25] investigated the effects of the
number of tube rows (Nrow) on air-side heat transfer performance
and friction characteristics of L-footed spiral n-and-tube heat
exchangers. It may have been found that the number of tube rows
had an insignicant effect on the air-side performance (j Colburn
factor and f friction factor) at a high Reynolds number.
2.3. Effects of operating conditions, and others
Lee et al. [7] carried out experiments aiming to determine the
effect of airside heat transfer performance of helically coiled spiral
n-tube-heat exchangers under frosting conditions. They
measured these performances by varying the n pitches and the

number of tube rows. Lee et al. [28] provided extensive test results
for frost formation and growth in a helically coiled spiral n-andtube heat exchangers under frosting conditions. It was found that
the relative humidity has a signicant effect on the frost growth
among all parameters tested. Furthermore, the work showed a correlation with frost thickness for prediction, as shown in Table 1.
Martinez et al. [3032] presented the methodology for designing serrated spiral n-and-tube heat exchanger based on the logarithmic mean temperature difference (LMTD) method with
comparison against experimental results. The comparative analysis
of air-side and tube-side performances of the serrated spiral nand-tube heat exchanger by various mass ow rates of ue gases
and water was discussed. Moreover, the authors also studied the
optimal geometry of spiral segmented ns by nding the optimal
equilibrium point between dimensionless overall heat transfer
coefcient and pressure drop.
Wongwises and Naphon [33,34] investigated the air-side heat
transfer performance and ow characteristics of a spirally coiled
nned tube heat exchanger under dry-surface and wet-surface
conditions. In addition, they tested heat exchangers that consisted
of a crimped spiral-nned tube. Naphon [35] pointed out the heat
transfer performance and friction characteristics of the helically
coiled heat exchanger with and without crimped spiral nned
tube. It was indicated that the average heat transfer rate (Q) and
friction factor (f) increased with an increasing rate of hot-water
ow. Moreover, the mass ow rate and inlet hot water temperature have a signicant effect on the heat exchangers effectiveness
(e). Then, Srisawad and Wongwises [36] tested the helically coiled
crimped spiral-nned tube heat exchanger, focusing on the air-side
performance in dry-surface conditions. It could clearly be seen that
the inlet water temperature, water ow rate, and Reynolds number
of air have a signicant effect on the heat transfer performance.
3. Numerical and simulation works
3.1. Effects of n pitch, n thickness, n material, n pattern, n
alignment, and n outside diameter
Lemouedda et al. [37] simulated the heat transfer performance
and ow characteristics for three-row serrated spiral n-and-tube
heat exchangers based on CFD code STAR-CCM+(V.4), in which
they found the existing problem. They also studied the effects of
n pattern (i.e., n serration, n twisting, and number of n segments) on air-side performance. It was conrmed that the serrated
spiral-nned tube heat exchangers have better air-side heat transfer performance than the spiral-nned tubes. Hofmann and Walter
[38] conducted three-dimensional simulations on heat transfer and
ow characteristics of segmented serrated spiral-nned tube heat
exchangers. They studied the effect of Reynolds number and n
pattern (viz., U-nned tube and I-nned tube) on heat transfer
and ow characteristics over the Reynolds number range 3500 to
50,000.
3.2. Effects of number of tube rows, tube arrangement, tube diameter,
longitudinal tube pitch, and transverse tube pitch
Mcilwain [39] used CFD to study the effects of number of tube
rows (Nrow = 24) on the heat transfer performance and friction
characteristics for serrated spiral-nned tube heat exchangers at

air velocity of 110 m/s.
427
Spiral fin 57%
3.3. Effects of operating conditions and others

Wang et al. [40] investigated the transient response of a
spiral-nned tube with its base subjected to the variation of uid
temperature. They used the methods of Laplace transforms derived
by the Keller and Keller to analyze the transient response of a spiralnned tube. Furthermore, they also indicated that the exact solution
for unit step input and sinusoidal base heat ux was obtained.
4. Discussion
A recently published paper by Goldstein et al. [41], in 2005,
made a comprehensive review of recent developments in the eld
of heat transfer. In another paper, Nagarani et al. [42] listed a set
of heat transfer problems for thermal system design based on space
availability and cost. They reviewed the literature and survey practices that provide the basis for guidelines in the general techniques
of this work. In heat transfer eld, the circular n is a specic type of
n, used to transfer heat in a radial direction. Circular ns are often
used to increase the heat transfer area of the heat exchanger. Moreover, circular-nned tube heat exchangers are commonly used in
industry. Comparison of articles published between spiral ns
and circular ns illustrates the approaches in the future scaling
trends of both n types. The authors compiled the articles published in the eld of circular n-and-tube heat exchangers [43
68]. It is indicated that the circular n can provide understanding
and improvement of the knowledge basic for applications of other
ns. Figs. 79 are investigated based on the Scopus database from
1990 to 2013. Fig. 7 illustrated a research popularity comparison
between spiral and circular ns. It showed that, up to 2005, the
research eld of circular ns was much more popular than that of
spiral ns. During this period, both fundamentals of uid ow
and heat transfer engineering were explored by many researchers
Fig. 8. Ratio of articles published for spiral and circular nned tube heat
exchangers.
for circular ns. Little research was conducted, however, on spiral

ns. After 2005, the number of studies on spiral ns grew dramatically. Many researchers were devoted to studying spiral ns
because of their higher heat transfer coefcient, rate of heat transfer, and n mechanical strength in comparison with those of circular ns. Moreover, the manufacturing or fabrication processes of
spiral ns are much simpler than those of circular ns, yielding
lower production cost. According to Fig. 7, it is clear that the
amount of research in spiral ns will grow continually because of
its several advantages. Furthermore, Briggs and Young [67] and
Robinson and Briggs [68] have both proposed the well-known airside performance correlations of circular n-and-tube heat
exchangers for validation and comparison with others n
congurations, as found in Table 2. In order to carry out the
baseline study for guiding the research, it was well established that
35
Fin types
30
Number of articles
Spiral fin
25
Circular fin
20
15
10
0
<2000 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Years
Fig. 7. Comparison between number of articles published for spiral and circular n.
428
Number of articles
Numerical &
Simulation
11%
17
Experiment
89%
8
6
2
Field research
A
Experiment
Notes
A ; Effect of fin configurations
B ; Effect of tube arrangements
C ; Effect of operating conditions and others
Numerical &
Simulation
Fig. 9. Number of articles published in eld of spiral n and tube heat exchangers.
Table 2
Air-side performance correlations for circular n-and-tub heat exchangers.
Circular n-and-tube heat exchangers
Authors
-year-
Fin types
Surface condition
Correlations
Range of parameters/comment
Briggs and Young [67]

-1963-
Circular n
Dry
j Colburn factor correlation
"
j 0:134 Re0:319
do
Robinson and Briggs [68]

-1966-
Circular n
Dry
f p f t
#0:2
d d
f 2 o
0:11
f p f t
ft
h
i
f f
0:13 6 2 dpdto 6 0:63
f
h
i
d d
0:09 6 12 f do o 6 0:69

0:011 6 df ot 6 0:15

1:54 6 PdTo 6 8:23
f Friction factor correlation
f 18:93N row
2Amin
Ao
PT
do
0:927
PT
PD
0:515
Redo 200050; 000

h
i
df do
6 0:56
do

ft
0:011 6 do 6 0:25

1:86 6 PdTo 6 4:60
0:35 6 12
Redo 0:316
where PD = Diagonal pitch
there was more research on spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers

than on circular ns, as seen in Fig. 8. It must be noted that the
research on n-and-tube heat exchangers for spiral ns (of 57%)
is more plentiful than for circular ns (of 43%). Research on the
spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers, however, has consisted of
the conventional spiral n, serrated spiral n, crimped spiral n,
and L-footed spiral nabout 12%, 21%, 20%, and only 4%, respectively. These research areas are also essential to a survey. This might
be leading up to the article about spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers in future research. As mentioned above in the experimental section, as well as in the numerical and simulation sections, the effects
of n congurations, tube arrangements, operating conditions, and

other factors on the air-side heat transfer and ow characteristics
for spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers are considered for this
review papers presentations. From the foregoing reviews of ndings in this study, one can nd that most of the studies focused
on experimental studies of air-side heat transfer performance and
friction characteristics for spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers.
Only a few efforts, however, have focused on numerical and simulation studies, as illustrated in Fig. 9. To conclude, it is clearly seen
that the eld of experimental research works has been up to 89%,
which is very popular for scientists and researchers.
429
Colburn factor (j)
friction factor (f)
.1000
f
j
.0100
.0010
Tube
Fin types Arrangement
Spiral fin
Conventional staggered
Crimped
staggered
L-footed
staggered
Plate fin
Circular
staggered
Circular
staggered
Plain
staggered
Plain
staggered
Slit
staggered
Wavy
staggered
Nrow
fp (mm)
2
2
2
2.50
2.50
2.50
2
2
2
2
2
2
2.50
2.50
2.50
2.50
2.50
2.54
factors
j Fajiang et al. [8]
j, f Pongsoi et al. [23]
j, f Pongsoi et al. [26]
j
f
j
f
j, f
j, f
Briggs and Young [67]

Robinson and Briggs [68]
Wang and Chang [69]
Wang et al. [70]
Wang et al. [71]
Kim et al. [72]
.0001
1000
10000
18000
Reynolds number (Redo)

Fig. 10. Comparison of air-side performance between spiral n-and-tube heat exchanger and plate n-and-tube heat exchanger.
Fig. 10 shows the comparison of air-side performance (i.e., j

Colburn factor and f friction factor) obtained from various correlational and experimental data for spiral and plate n-and-tube
heat exchangers (conventional spiral n [8], crimped spiral n
[23], L-footed spiral n [26], circular n [67,68], plain n [69,70],
slit n [71], and wavy n [72]). This comparison investigates the
geometrical parameters of the test sample for the tube outside
diameter (do) of 16.35 mm, n pitch (fp) of 2.5 mm, n outside
diameter (df) of 34.8 mm, transverse tube pitch (PT) of 39 mm, longitudinal tube pitch (PL) of 35 mm, n thickness (ft) of 0.25 mm,
and number of tube row (Nrow) of 2. As expected, the Colburn j factor and friction f factor decrease with increasing Reynolds number.
The result also shows the same trend in the j and f factors. In addition, it can be noted that crimped spiral n-and-tube heat exchanger has given higher j Colburn factor than L-footed spiral n and
plate n. This may be because the base of crimped spiral n provides better good mixing of turbulent ow across the space
between ns than L-footed spiral n and plate n. Moreover, it is
found that j factor obtained from crimped spiral n is about 26
61%, different from the other n types. For the friction factor, as
expected, crimped spiral n, plain n and wavy n seem to give
higher f factors, compared with L-footed spiral n, circular n,
and slit n. The reduction of blockage ow area of L-footed spiral
n and circular n decrease pressure drop, which affects the f factor. The f factor of crimped spiral n, plain n and wavy n is more
than that of the L-footed spiral n, circular n, and slit n by about
30110% at high Reynolds number.
Energy-saving solutions are needed for commercial applications. Therefore, the group of research on spiral n-and-tube heat
exchangers should be encouraged in order to improve the knowledge and understanding of efciency and optimal design. Hence,
the economizers are part of the heat exchanger equipment
intended to reduce energy consumption or to perform another useful function, such as preheating a uid.
5. Conclusions
The authors suggest that the spiral-nned tube heat exchanger
may present a challenging subject for further investigation. To
reduce the weight and size of heat exchangers (compact heat

exchanger), the various n congurations, tube arrangements,
operating conditions, and other factors have been investigated to
improve the air-side performance. We hope that future research
will use this study as a foundation for enhancing our understanding of those effects on the air-side performance of the spiral nand-tube heat exchangers. Moreover, the main objective of this
paper will lead to a well-designed heat exchanger, effective heat
transfer behavior, and cost savings. In addition, this work will play
a dening role in future research for bringing it to commercialization and industrial applications.
Conict of interest
None declared.
Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to the Thailand Research Fund, the
National Science and Technology Development Agency and the
National Research University Project for the supporting.
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Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics of Spiral Fin-And-tube Heat Exchangers A Review - Pongsoi

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 79 (2014) 417431

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

Heat transfer and ow characteristics of spiral n-and-tube heat

Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 24709115.

Effects of operating conditions and others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

minimum free ow area, m2

Fig. 1 illustrates the relation between energy uses and energy

transfer performance and ow characteristics of n-and-tube heat

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the boiler with economizer system.

Spiral finned tube

Fig. 3. Spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers in various congurations.

transverse tube pitch effects. Fig. 6 shows the geometric parameters

Conventional spiral fin

Conventional spiral finned tube

Tube inside diameter (di)

Nuntaphan et al. [18,19]

Dry and wet

j Colburn factor and f friction factor correlations

(In-line tube arrangement)

Genic et al. [27]

f friction factor correlations

In-line tube arrangement

Nuntaphan and Kiatsiriroat

Z Air-side thermal resistance correlation

b 8:5523 1014 d1:2693 x3:7617 sa

b 4:1118 4:2367s 338:03sx

Nu Nusselt number and

For ST/SD > 1

j Colburn factor correlation

a 5:3765 5:7671d 0:4146

Lee et al. [7]

Nu Nusselt number correlation

(For helical coil tube)

where Fo = Fourier number

j Colburn factor and f friction factor correlations

FaJiang et al. [8]

Nu Nusselt number and

Pongsoi et al. [26]

0:263 0:194 0:168 0:132

0:475 0:138 0:325 0:212

j Colburn factor and f friction factor correlations

Lee et al. [28]

dfr Frost thickness correlation

dfr 9:1251 Re0:2011

where T = Ratio temperature, (Ttp Tfs)/(Tfs Ta)

the circular n because of the inuence of downstream rotational

coefcient at the same Reynolds number. The n outside diameter,

measured these performances by varying the n pitches and the

characteristics for serrated spiral-nned tube heat exchangers at

Spiral fin 57%

3.3. Effects of operating conditions and others

for circular ns. Little research was conducted, however, on spiral

Briggs and Young [67]

j Colburn factor correlation

Robinson and Briggs [68]

f Friction factor correlation

Redo 200050; 000

where PD = Diagonal pitch

there was more research on spiral n-and-tube heat exchangers

of n congurations, tube arrangements, operating conditions, and

Colburn factor (j)

friction factor (f)