Experiments were conducted in a cold model circulating fluidized bed (CFB) having riser cross sectional area of 100 mm x 100 mm, height of 4.8 m, bed temperature of 75 degrees C and superficial velocity of 8 ms(-1). Local sand having average diameter of 231 mu m, particle density of 2774 kg m(-3) and bulk density of 1515 kg m(-3) was used as bed material. The experiments were conducted for three tube configurations: a membrane tube, a membrane tube with a longitudinal fin at the tube crest and a membrane tube with two longitudinal fins at 45 degrees on both sides of the tube crest. Heat transfer, heat transfer coefficient ratio and heat transfer ratio of the three tubes are presented as a function of cross sectional average suspension density. The results show that membrane tubes with one and two longitudinal fins have higher heat transfer than membrane tubes although they have lower heat transfer coefficient,. In addition, numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the heat transfer behavior of the three tubes under the normal operating conditions of CFB boilers. it was found that the membrane tube with two longitudinal fins at 45 degrees on both sides of the tube crest had the flattest inner wall tube heat flux profile. Moreover, in terms of temperature distribution in the tube material, it has the lowest profile. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.