What are T-shaped finned tubes?

The T-type finned tube, also known as T-type screw pipe, is crafted from materials such as carbon steel, stainless steel, and copper.

This innovative heat exchange tube is formed through a rolling process on a light tube. Its distinguishing feature lies in the outer surface of the pipe, which is composed of a series of spiral T-shaped tunnels. When the tube medium is heated within these tunnels, a sequence of bubble nuclei is generated. The heated state within the tunnel cavity causes these nuclei to rapidly enlarge, filling the inner cavity. Continued heating leads to a rapid increase in pressure inside the bubbles, causing them to eject rapidly from the tube through surface slits. The forceful ejection of bubbles creates a significant erosion force, inducing a local negative pressure that draws in the surrounding lower temperature liquid into the T-shaped tunnels, resulting in continuous boiling. The T-type finned tube exhibits a significantly higher heat transfer capability compared to conventional light tubes, as it carries away more heat per unit surface area in a given time.

Advantages of T-shaped finned tubes:

1. Enhanced Heat Transfer Effect: The boiling heat transfer coefficient of T-type tubes is 1.6-3.3 times higher than that of light tubes in R113 working medium.

2. Lower Temperature Boiling: Unlike conventional light tube heat exchangers that require a temperature difference of 12-15°C between the heat medium and cold medium for boiling to occur, T-type finned tube heat exchangers only require a temperature difference of 2-4°C. This results in denser, continuous, and rapid boiling, providing unique advantages over light tubes.

3. Superior Performance: Tests with various mediums, such as Freon 11 and liquid ammonia, demonstrate significantly higher boiling heat coefficients compared to light tubes. In industrial applications, T-type tubes outperform smooth tubes by up to 99% under certain conditions.

4. Cost-Effective: T-type finned tubes offer cost advantages compared to aluminum porous surface heat transfer tubes.

5. Scale Prevention: Intense gas and liquid disturbance inside the T-shaped tunnels, along with high-speed gas jets along the T-seam, minimize scaling on both the T-slot and outer tube surface. This ensures prolonged usage without compromising heat transfer efficiency.

Applications of T-type finned tubes:

These tubes can be employed as heat exchanger components, forming T-type finned tube heat exchangers, as long as the shell-side medium remains relatively clean without solid particles or colloid impurities. This enhances the effectiveness of shell-side boiling heat transfer. T-shaped finned tubes find versatile applications in various industries.

T shaped finned tube