Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review

Muhammad Ali Khan; Muhammad Ilyas; Khalid Waheed; Inamul Haq; Fatih Aydogan

doi:10.14744/thermal.0000972

Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review

Abstract

This paper reviews the latest advances in passive heat transfer enhancement techniques, addressing the gap in the literature regarding recent developments. Heat exchangers are crucial in improving energy efficiency in various industrial applications, including power plants and nuclear reactors. Various heat enhancement techniques such as geometric modifications, air bubble injection, vortex generators, tape inserts, micro-surfaces, baffles, printed circuit heat exchangers, and phase change materials are studied. These techniques are evaluated based on heat transfer rate, pressure drop, and performance evaluation criteria. It is found from this review that the air bubble injection in shell and tube heat exchangers demonstrates the highest performance evaluation criteria of 4.5. However, its application is limited by process constraints. On the other hand, the Y-shaped tape inserts with a trapezoidal configuration though having a slightly lower performance evaluation criteria of 3.68 is easier to implement in existing and new designs. In printed circuit heat exchangers, zigzag channels exhibit a 50% improvement in thermal performance compared to straight channels. The study also highlights the potential of gyroid structures for application in high-pressure and high-temperature systems, such as advanced nuclear reactors. The comprehensive evaluation of heat enhancement techniques provides designers and engineers with a practical insight into designing heat exchanger for specific system requirements.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Aerodynamics (Excl. Hypersonic Aerodynamics)

Journal Section

Review

Authors

Muhammad Ali Khan This is me
0009-0000-9656-7797
United States

Muhammad Ilyas This is me
0000-0002-0457-535X
United States

Khalid Waheed This is me
0000-0002-7612-4857
United States

Inamul Haq This is me
0009-0009-0343-9186
United States

Fatih Aydogan ^* This is me
0000-0002-3865-7193
United States

Publication Date

July 31, 2025

Submission Date

October 6, 2024

Acceptance Date

October 31, 2024

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 11 Number: 4

DOI

https://doi.org/10.14744/thermal.0000972

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA62FF94XJ

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Khan, M. A., Ilyas, M., Waheed, K., Haq, I., & Aydogan, F. (2025). Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review. Journal of Thermal Engineering, 11(4), 1148-1159. https://doi.org/10.14744/thermal.0000972

AMA

1.Khan MA, Ilyas M, Waheed K, Haq I, Aydogan F. Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review. Journal of Thermal Engineering. 2025;11(4):1148-1159. doi:10.14744/thermal.0000972

Chicago

Khan, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ilyas, Khalid Waheed, Inamul Haq, and Fatih Aydogan. 2025. “Advances in Passive Heat Transfer Enhancement for Heat Exchangers: A Comprehensive Review”. Journal of Thermal Engineering 11 (4): 1148-59. https://doi.org/10.14744/thermal.0000972.

EndNote

Khan MA, Ilyas M, Waheed K, Haq I, Aydogan F (July 1, 2025) Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review. Journal of Thermal Engineering 11 4 1148–1159.

IEEE

[1]M. A. Khan, M. Ilyas, K. Waheed, I. Haq, and F. Aydogan, “Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review”, Journal of Thermal Engineering, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 1148–1159, July 2025, doi: 10.14744/thermal.0000972.

ISNAD

Khan, Muhammad Ali - Ilyas, Muhammad - Waheed, Khalid - Haq, Inamul - Aydogan, Fatih. “Advances in Passive Heat Transfer Enhancement for Heat Exchangers: A Comprehensive Review”. Journal of Thermal Engineering 11/4 (July 1, 2025): 1148-1159. https://doi.org/10.14744/thermal.0000972.

JAMA

1.Khan MA, Ilyas M, Waheed K, Haq I, Aydogan F. Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review. Journal of Thermal Engineering. 2025;11:1148–1159.

MLA

Khan, Muhammad Ali, et al. “Advances in Passive Heat Transfer Enhancement for Heat Exchangers: A Comprehensive Review”. Journal of Thermal Engineering, vol. 11, no. 4, July 2025, pp. 1148-59, doi:10.14744/thermal.0000972.

Vancouver

1.Muhammad Ali Khan, Muhammad Ilyas, Khalid Waheed, Inamul Haq, Fatih Aydogan. Advances in passive heat transfer enhancement for heat exchangers: a comprehensive review. Journal of Thermal Engineering. 2025 Jul. 1;11(4):1148-59. doi:10.14744/thermal.0000972