Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Convective Heat Transfer of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide at Low Mass Fluxes

Abstract

Featured Application: Supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle, geothermal system, nuclear reactor.Abstract: Significant differences in the heat transfer behaviors of supercritical carbon dioxide in a heated channel have been observed at different mass fluxes. At low mass fluxes, a unique heat transfer characteristic is accompanied by a monotonously smooth temperature variation without any temperature peak, even though the ratio of heat flux to mass flux (q/G) is high. In this study, experimental and numerical investigations explore the hidden mechanism of the peculiar heat transfer characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide at low mass fluxes in vertically upward tubes with inside diameters (ID) of 5 mm. The range of operating conditions examined within the study include a mass flux (G) between 0-200 kg/m 2 s, and a heat flux (q) of up to 120 kW/m 2 . The parametric effects within these experimental conditions were analyzed on the basis of the obtained heat transfer data. Furthermore, a qualitative modeling force analysis and quantitative numerical simulation of vertical flow at low mass flux reveal the heat transfer mechanism for these temperature profiles. In addition, the distribution of flow parameters and thermo-physical properties (such as shear stress, density, and specific heat) in the near-wall region were also studied. It is found that the heat transfer behavior of supercritical CO 2 at low mass flux is similar to "film boiling" at subcritical pressure, where "vapor-like" fluid occupies the sublayer region. Due to reduced buoyancy, the fluid does not cause enough mixing/instability to bring it to the bulk flow.