Leveque’s Analogy Applied to Banks of Tubes with Helicoidal fins in staggered Arrangement Pedro Wanderley Ventura, Deovaldo Moraes Júnior, Victor da Silva Rosa, Felipe Bertelli, Nelize Maria de Almeida Coelho

Abstract

 Leveque's analogy, originally developed with a theoretical basis for laminar flow in heat exchange structures that present a repetitive geometric pattern, allows relating the heat exchange and mass transfer coefficient to the pressure loss experienced by the fluid when crossing the surface. Although originally developed for laminar flow, it has been applied to turbulent flow, being one of the first applications, in plate heat exchangers involving liquids, allowing manufacturers to know the thermal performance of new models developed simply by measuring the pressure loss in them. Subsequent studies sought to investigate the applicability of the theory to other geometries, such as tube banks and extended surfaces of compact exchangers, such as strip-fin type fins, involving gas-gas heat exchange. Considering the potential of this theory, this article aims to adapt the equations of Leveque's Analogy and evaluate its suitability for use in the design of round tube heat exchangers with helical fins in staggered arrangement, one of the most widely used surfaces in heat exchange involving a gas and a liquid in industry in general.