Experimental study on the influence of ultrasonic vibration on heat transfer and pressure drop in heat exchanger tubes

The heat transfer performance and pressure drop of 3 different tubes under different ultrasonic power are experimentally investigated using a tube-shell heat exchanger model and the designed ultrasonic vibration device. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient increases obviously while the pressure drop decreases dramatically due to the effect of ultrasonic cavitation, which continuously breaks the laminar boundary layer. In addition, the corrugated tubes present better enhancement performance than the bare tubes under ultrasonic vibration. The investigation provides basis for the application of compound heat transfer enhancement of corrugated tubes and ultrasonic vibration in tube-shell heat exchangers.