Heat transfer and pressure drop investigations of the compact exhaust heat exchanger with twisted tape inserts for automotive waste heat utilization

Abstract

Thermoelectric-based waste heat recovery is a competent technique to reduce the exhaust emissions and fuel consumption of automobiles. Thermal and hydraulic characteristics of the exhaust heat exchanger plays a decisive role in the extent of waste heat recovery from the exhaust gas. In this study, the exhaust heat exchanger having twisted tape inserts is proposed to increase the internal heat transfer coefficient. The dimensionless Nusselt number and friction factor were evaluated experimentally for different designs of the twisted tapes. The experiments were performed for the Reynolds number in the range 2300 25000. The considered geometric parameters of the twisted rib explored were the pitch fraction, twist fraction, and slope. The obtained results were compared to reveal the best feasible design of the twisted tape. The maximum net thermohydraulic efficiency factor achieved for the system in the present analysis is 1.93. With the use of twisted tapes, the area of the exhaust heat exchanger can be greatly reduced for the same power output as flat geometry. This would help for the integration of the waste heat recovery with the engine, where the space available is very limited. © 2021 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). All rights reserved.