Mechanical Engineering for Society and Industry

Articles

Improving the thermal efficiency of fin-tube heat exchangers by optimizing geometric parameters of curved rectangular winglet vortex generators

Dan Mugisidi , Oktarina Heriyani , Amir Khalid , Ahmed Rahmani

Published
May 14, 2026

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026)
Pages 128-145

DOI

Open Access
Share

Abstract

Thermal efficiency is a fundamental criterion in the design and operation of heat exchangers because it provides a clear view of the thermal behaviour and reliability of the system. Integrating vortex generators (VGs) with heat exchangers often increases turbulence and enhances the heat transfer rate but at the cost of increased pressure drops. This study aims to maximise the thermal enhancement factor (TEF) in fin–tube heat exchangers by optimising the radial distance, hole width and angular position of curved rectangular winglet vortex generators (CRW-VGs). Computational fluid dynamics analysis is utilised to investigate how variations in radial distance and hole width influence CRW-VG performance. Parameters such as TEF, Nusselt number ratio, friction factor ratio and flow regime were examined. The results show that smaller radial distances suppress mixing vortices and enhance TEF, while larger hole widths generate strong jet flows and increase heat transfer rates. The highest TEF of 1.075 is achieved at an angular position of 120°, a hole width of 0.5 H and a radial distance of 1.25. The study reveals that optimising the geometric parameters of VGs is proven satisfactory for enhancing heat transfer performance and minimising pressure drop.

Keywords

Curved rectangular winglet; Heat transfer enhancement; Hole width; Radial distance; Vortex generators

References

  1. [1] K. Torii, K. M. Kwak, and K. Nishino, “Heat transfer enhancement accompanying pressure-loss reduction with winglet-type vortex generators for fin-tube heat exchangers,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 45, no. 18, pp. 3795–3801, Aug. 2002, doi: 10.1016/S0017-9310(02)00080-7.
  2. [2] P. T. Tsilingiris, “Review and critical comparative evaluation of moist air thermophysical properties at the temperature range between 0 and 100 °C for Engineering Calculations,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 83, pp. 50–63, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.072.
  3. [3] Dan Mugisidi, Oktarina Heriyani, Pancatatva Hesti Gunawan, and Dwi Apriani, “Performance Improvement of a Forced Draught Cooling Tower Using a Vortex Generator,” CFD Letters, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 45–57, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.37934/cfdl.13.1.4557.
  4. [4] Syaiful, H. Nabilah, M. S. K. T. Suryo Utomo, A. Suprihanto, and M. F. Soetanto, “Numerical simulation of heat transfer enhancement from tubes surface to airflow using concave delta winglet vortex generators,” Results in Engineering, vol. 16, p. 100710, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.rineng.2022.100710.
  5. [5] M. Awais and A. A. Bhuiyan, “Heat transfer enhancement using different types of vortex generators (VGs): A review on experimental and numerical activities,” Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, vol. 5, pp. 524–545, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.tsep.2018.02.007.
  6. [6] S. K. Sarangi and D. P. Mishra, “Effect of winglet location on heat transfer of a fin-and-tube heat exchanger,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 116, pp. 528–540, Apr. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.01.106.
  7. [7] K. Song, Z. Xi, M. Su, L. Wang, X. Wu, and L. Wang, “Effect of geometric size of curved delta winglet vortex generators and tube pitch on heat transfer characteristics of fin-tube heat exchanger,” Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, vol. 82, pp. 8–18, Apr. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2016.11.002.
  8. [8] A. Boonloi and W. Jedsadaratanachai, “Air Flow, Thermal Profile, and Thermohydraulic Performance Assessment in a Square Duct Heat Exchanger With Combined Vortex Generators: CFD Analysis,” Journal of Engineering, vol. 2025, no. 1, Jan. 2025, doi: 10.1155/je/4197880.
  9. [9] H. Karkaba, T. Dbouk, C. Habchi, S. Russeil, T. Lemenand, and D. Bougeard, “Multiobjective optimization of Vortex Generators for heat transfer enhancement in turbulent flows,” International Journal of Thermofluids, vol. 22, p. 100633, May 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijft.2024.100633.
  10. [10] H. Arjmandi, R. Amini, A. Ghaffari, H. Rahmani, and A. Chamkha, “Effects of baffles and vortex generators on cooling performance of a gas turbine combustion chamber: Numerical assessment,” Alexandria Engineering Journal, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 4467–4478, Jun. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.aej.2021.10.005.
  11. [11] U. Kashyap, K. Das, and B. K. Debnath, “Effect of surface modification of a rectangular vortex generator on heat transfer rate from a surface to fluid: An extended study,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 134, pp. 269–281, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2018.08.020.
  12. [12] H. Naik and S. Tiwari, “Effect of winglet location on performance of fin-tube heat exchangers with inline tube arrangement,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 125, pp. 248–261, Oct. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.04.071.
  13. [13] Z. Qian, Q. Wang, and J. Cheng, “Analysis of heat and resistance performance of plate fin-and-tube heat exchanger with rectangle-winglet vortex generator,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 124, pp. 1198–1211, Sep. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.04.037.
  14. [14] K. Srivastava and R. R. Sahoo, “Effect of pitch and angle of attack on thermal performance of new envelope and delta vortex generators for TEG: An experimental and numerical approach,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 195, p. 108671, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2023.108671.
  15. [15] C. Luo, S. Wu, K. Song, L. Hua, and L. Wang, “Thermo-hydraulic performance optimization of wavy fin heat exchanger by combining delta winglet vortex generators,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 163, p. 114343, Dec. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.114343.
  16. [16] O. Heriyani, M. Djaeni, Syaiful, and A. K. Putri, “Perforated concave rectangular winglet pair vortex generators enhance the heat transfer of air flowing through heated tubes inside a channel,” Results in Engineering, vol. 16, p. 100705, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.rineng.2022.100705.
  17. [17] M. Dogan and S. Erzincan, “Experimental investigation of thermal performance of novel type vortex generator in rectangular channel,” International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 144, p. 106785, May 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2023.106785.
  18. [18] Z. Ke, C.-L. Chen, K. Li, S. Wang, and C.-H. Chen, “Vortex dynamics and heat transfer of longitudinal vortex generators in a rectangular channel,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 132, pp. 871–885, Apr. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.12.064.
  19. [19] H. Fu, H. Sun, L. Yang, L. Yan, Y. Luan, and F. Magagnato, “Effects of the configuration of the delta winglet longitudinal vortex generators and channel height on flow and heat transfer in minichannels,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 227, p. 120401, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120401.
  20. [20] J. Batista, A. Trp, K. Lenic, and M. Kirincic, “The influence of geometry parameters of rectangular vortex generators on the air-to-water fin-and-tube heat exchanger efficiency enhancement,” International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 162, p. 108647, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2025.108647.
  21. [21] D. Jin, S. Quan, J. Zuo, and S. Xu, “Numerical investigation of heat transfer enhancement in a solar air heater roughened by multiple V-shaped ribs,” Renewable Energy, vol. 134, pp. 78–88, Apr. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.11.016.
  22. [22] S. Pourhedayat, S. M. Pesteei, H. E. Ghalinghie, M. Hashemian, and M. A. Ashraf, “Thermal-exergetic behavior of triangular vortex generators through the cylindrical tubes,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 151, p. 119406, Apr. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2020.119406.
  23. [23] J. Wang, L. Zeng, T. Fu, S. Yu, and Y. He, “Effects of the position and perforation parameters of the delta winglet vortex generators on flow and heat transfer in minichannels,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 198, p. 108878, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2023.108878.
  24. [24] P. Promvonge and S. Skullong, “Heat transfer augmentation in solar receiver heat exchanger with hole-punched wings,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 155, pp. 59–69, Jun. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.03.132.
  25. [25] M. E. Nakhchi, M. Hatami, and M. Rahmati, “Experimental investigation of performance improvement of double-pipe heat exchangers with novel perforated elliptic turbulators,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 168, p. 107057, Oct. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2021.107057.
  26. [26] A. J. Modi, N. A. Kalel, and M. K. Rathod, “Thermal performance augmentation of fin-and-tube heat exchanger using rectangular winglet vortex generators having circular punched holes,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 158, p. 119724, Sep. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2020.119724.
  27. [27] Z. Han, Z. Xu, and J. Wang, “Numerical simulation on heat transfer characteristics of rectangular vortex generators with a hole,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 126, pp. 993–1001, Nov. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.06.081.
  28. [28] J. Wang, T. Fu, L. Zeng, F. Lien, and G. Chen, “Thermal-hydraulic performance in a tube with punched delta winglets inserts in turbulent flow,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 172, p. 107326, Feb. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2021.107326.
  29. [29] P. Saini and M. P. Shah, “Performance evaluation of finned tube heat exchanger using curved wavy delta winglet vortex generators with circular perforations,” International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 159, p. 108184, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2024.108184.
  30. [30] Y. Oh and K. Kim, “Effects of position and geometry of curved vortex generators on fin-tube heat-exchanger performance characteristics,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 189, p. 116736, May 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2021.116736.
  31. [31] M.-W. Tian, S. Khorasani, H. Moria, S. Pourhedayat, and H. S. Dizaji, “Profit and efficiency boost of triangular vortex-generators by novel techniques,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 156, p. 119842, Aug. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2020.119842.
  32. [32] P. Knödler and V. Dreissigacker, “Fluid Dynamic Assessment and Development of Nusselt Correlations for Fischer Koch S Structures,” Energies, vol. 17, no. 3, p. 688, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.3390/en17030688.
  33. [33] X. Zou, S. B. Lo, R. Sevilla, O. Hassan, and K. Morgan, “The generation of tetrahedral meshes for NURBS-enhanced FEM,” Engineering with Computers, vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 3949–3977, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1007/s00366-024-02004-z.
  34. [34] P. Saini, A. Dhar, and S. Powar, “Performance enhancement of fin and tube heat exchanger employing curved delta winglet vortex generator with circular punched holes,” International Journal of Thermofluids, vol. 20, p. 100452, Nov. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ijft.2023.100452.
  35. [35] M. K. Fahad, N. F. Ifraj, S. H. Tahsin, and M. J. Hasan, “Numerical investigation of the hydrothermal performance of novel vortex generators in a rectangular channel by employing inclination and rotational angles,” International Journal of Thermofluids, vol. 20, p. 100500, Nov. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ijft.2023.100500.
  36. [36] S. Gururatana and S. Skullong, “Heat transfer augmentation in a pipe with 3D printed wavy insert,” Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 21, p. 100698, Oct. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2020.100698.
  37. [37] A. Sinha, H. Chattopadhyay, A. K. Iyengar, and G. Biswas, “Enhancement of heat transfer in a fin-tube heat exchanger using rectangular winglet type vortex generators,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 101, pp. 667–681, Oct. 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2016.05.032.
  38. [38] D. Hu et al., “Performance optimization of a wavy finned-tube heat exchanger with staggered curved vortex generators,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 183, p. 107830, Jan. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2022.107830.
  39. [39] K. Srivastava and R. R. Sahoo, “Experimental and numerical study on thermal performance of new envelope and triangular vortex generators with different pitch and angle of attack,” Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, vol. 49, p. 102459, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.tsep.2024.102459.
  40. [40] A. J. Modi and M. K. Rathod, “Experimental investigation of heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop of fin-and-circular tube heat exchangers with modified rectangular winglet vortex generator,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 189, p. 122742, Jun. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2022.122742.
  41. [41] R. B. Pérez, A. M. Pérez, and D. S. Suárez, “Influence of the punched holes on thermohydraulic performance and flow pattern of rectangular channels with a pair of perforated vortex generators,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 184, p. 122291, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2021.122291.
  42. [42] J. Wang, L. Zeng, Y. He, B. Zhao, and P. Chu, “Effect of structure parameters on thermal performance of novel punched V-shape VGs for hear exchangers: An experimental approach,” International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 155, p. 107472, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2024.107472.
  43. [43] J. Wang, C. Li, L. Zeng, T. Fu, and K. Liu, “Thermal performance analysis of a heat exchanger with a novel turbulator insert by using machine learning method,” Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 72, p. 106412, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2025.106412.
  44. [44] A. Boonloi and W. Jedsadaratanachai, “Turbulent forced convection in a square duct heat exchanger (SDHX) equipped with combined vortex turbulators (CVT): A numerical investigation,” International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 161, p. 108421, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2024.108421.
  45. [45] W. Wei, G. Xu, Y. Wang, and E. Ding, “Study on air-side performance of air-cooled heat exchangers under large air velocity and wet conditions,” Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, vol. 48, p. 102389, Feb. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.tsep.2024.102389.
  46. [46] P. Yang, T. Qing, X. Lei, L. Wang, and Y. Liu, “Experimental study on thermal–hydraulic performance of moist air inside flat tube of two kinds of plate-fin heat exchangers,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 239, p. 122121, Feb. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.122121.
  47. [47] M. H. Alshameri, A. A. Azizuddin, A. Arshad, H. G. Mohammed, and S. Sadeq, “Experimental Analysis of Thermal and Hydraulic Performance of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Fins in Compact Heat Exchangers,” International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 12496–12510, Jun. 2025, doi: 10.15282/ijame.22.2.2025.18.0955.
Article Metrics
56
Views
34
Downloads

SCITE

DIMENSIONS

Publication Information
Published May 14, 2026
Section Articles
Copyright Copyright (c) 2026 Dan Mugisidi, Oktarina Heriyani, Amir Khalid, Ahmed Rahmani
License Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Keywords
  • Curved rectangular winglet
  • Heat transfer enhancement
  • Hole width
  • Radial distance
  • Vortex generators