Experimental investigation of the performance attributes of a double pipe heat exchanger equipped with baffles of conventional or flower layouts

•The performance attributes of a double pipe heat exchanger are tested.•Flower and conventional segmental baffles are practically considered.•Effects of baffle configuration/annulus operating conditions are assessed.•The flower design achieves better performance than using traditional baffles.•Correlations are proposed to predict the system’s hydrothermal performance. In industrial heat management, the design of baffles within heat exchangers is crucial. They guide fluid flow and enhance turbulence, optimizing heat transfer. Yet, their configuration must be carefully considered to balance thermal efficiency with energy expenditure and pressure management. This research conducts practical tests on the hydrothermal attributes of a counter-flow double-pipe heat exchanger. It evaluates two baffle layouts: segmental and flower, considering baffle cut-off ratio (16.7 %≤δ ≤ 50 %), pitch ratio (8.3 %≤λ ≤ 22.2 %), flower-design relative angle (30°≤γ ≤ 90°), and operating conditions of annulus-side (2660 ≤ Rean ≤ 13110, 5.21 ≤ Pran ≤ 7.48). The findings assure that installing the baffles results in notable increases in both Nu¯an and fan. Besides, lowering baffle cut-off and pitch ratios, and increasing the relative angle of flower baffles lead to additional increases. Moreover, raising the annulus-fluid temperature reduces Nu¯an with a negligible effect on fan. Increasing Rean leads to a reduced fan and greater Nu¯an. Compared with no baffles, the maximum recorded increases in the Nu¯an and fan are 147.4 % and 60.2 %, respectively, realized by incorporating flower layout. On average, the flower baffles boost the Nu¯an by 20.8 % more than those using conventional baffles, with an average increase of 4.3 % in the fan. To judge the benefit of utilizing baffles, the Hydrothermal Performance Index (HTPI) is calculated, and its highest value is recorded as 2.23, attained by running the annular pipe at the lowest flow rate and temperature, with inserting flower baffles (δ = 16.7 %, λ = 8.3 %, γ = 90°). Finally, correlations for Nu¯an, HTPI, and fan prediction are suggested.