Heat and/or mass transfer intensification in helical pipes: Optimal helix geometries and comparison with alternative enhancement techniques

Maximizing the transfer performances of heat and mass exchangers is a major target for process intensification purposes. Basically, flux enhancement can be achieved through increased specific surface area and/or coefficients (e.g. Dean vortices generation in curved pipes), but this has to balanced energy requirement. In study, novel performance criteria taking into account both effects associated friction losses are proposed applied helical pipe covering broad range geometries. It shown that most geometries exhibit poor efficiencies terms volumetric rates. Nevertheless, some very particular helix designs offer huge potentiality intensified heat/mass performances. Surprisingly, volume reduction indeed achievable together with decreased requirement (pumping power). The these finally critically compared alternative techniques.