What Is Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing 

In industrial heat exchangers, corrugated stainless tubing refers to straight stainless tubes with continuous corrugations (often helical or patterned) on the tube wall. The corrugation geometry (pitch, depth, profile) is selected to:

• Disrupt the boundary layer that forms on smooth tubes

• Promote mixing and turbulence at lower bulk velocities

• Increase effective surface interaction between fluid and wall

Why corrugation boosts performance

1) Higher heat transfer at comparable—or sometimes lower—operating penalty

Because corrugations disturb the near-wall flow, they can deliver higher overall heat-transfer coefficients than smooth tubes in comparable duty. One industrial discussion reports ~40–80% higher overall coefficients versus smooth tubes in like-for-like comparisons (application dependent).

Academic testing also shows that corrugated-tube configurations can deliver ~2.0–2.6× heat-transfer coefficient increase, with ~1.9–2.0× hydraulic resistance increase, across a reported Reynolds range of 4000–40000—highlighting the classic trade-off: more heat transfer, but some added pressure drop.

2) Better fouling behavior and more stable runs

The swirl and secondary flow created by corrugations can delay buildup and help keep performance from drifting. One industry source describes fouling delays up to ~50% in challenging fluids and also notes shorter cleaning cycles in some cases (service dependent). 

3) More compact exchanger designs

With more heat flux per length, corrugated-tube exchangers can be designed shorter and lighter than smooth-tube equivalents for the same duty—one source cites up to ~30% shorter in certain designs. 

Applications of rigid corrugated stainless steel pipes

You’ll typically see rigid corrugated tubes inside tubular exchangers when the duty involves one or more of the following:

• Moderate-to-high viscosity fluids where smooth tubes struggle to stay turbulent

• Particulate-bearing streams where shear must be controlled but mixing is still needed

• Fouling services (slurries, crystallizing solutions, biological streams, sticky products)

• Space constraints where compactness matters

• Thermal cycling where designs that tolerate expansion/contraction are beneficial 

Some equipment designs pair corrugated tubes with construction features that simplify inspection/cleaning and manage expansion (e.g., concentric sanitary tubular arrangements and “floating” concepts in certain product families).