In order to improve the performance of laminar heat transfer in a tube

three types of twisted tape with alternate axes were designed. Numerical study was performed on the laminar heat transfer characteristics in circular tubes inserted with these different twisted tapes. The results show that

(1) For the case with short-width twisted tape of alternate axes

Nusselt number (Nu) increases with the increment of the dislocation angle under small Reynolds number (Re); but for large Re

the impact of dislocation angle grows negligible. However

a sudden decrease of Nu occurs at large Re for the small dislocation angles cases. The dislocation angle has an insignificant effect on the friction factor (f). The value of performance evaluation criterion (PEC) is the highest for the case with a 90° dislocation angle. (2) For the case with center-cleared twisted tape of alternate axes

the largest Nu is reached at the 60° dislocation angle. The friction factor f is relatively larger than that when the dislocation angle is 0°

and it exhibits an obvious increment with the dislocation angle. The PEC value demonstrates a complex variation with the dislocation angle. However

in general

the thermo-hydraulic performance is the best for the case with a 60° dislocation angle. (3) For the case with center-cleared short-width twisted tape of alternate axes

the Nu increases with the increment of the dislocation angle under small Re; but at large Re

the differences for different dislocation angle is limited. The dislocation angle has an insignificant effect on the friction factor (f). The PEC value is the highest for the case with a 90° dislocation angle. But the sudden decrease of Nu does not occur at large Re for the small dislocation angles cases. The largest f appears when the dislocation angle is 60°

but the differences between the cases with different dislocation angles are small. Moreover

the friction factor f is reduced by a great extent as compared with short-width twisted tape of alternate axes. The variation tendency of PEC is similar to that of Nu

and it performs best at the 90° dislocation angle. (4) In summary

a better comprehensive thermo-hydraulic performance could be obtained by applying the center-cleared short-width twisted tape of alternate axes.