Paper 3: A Review of Forced Convection Heat Transfer to Fluids at Supercritical Pressures

Abstract

Current interest in heat transfer to fluids near the critical point stems from developments in steam plant, nuclear reactors, and rocket motors and this paper reviews the present situation regarding forced convection. A brief survey of existing experimental data and empirical correlations is followed by a discussion of the main semi-empirical theories that have been proposed. It is concluded that neither correlations nor theories show sufficient agreement with experiment to justify their use except in very limited circumstances. Moreover, there are discrepancies between sets of measurements made under apparently similar conditions. In these circumstances it is clearly necessary to review the possible heat transfer mechanisms that may be important under near-critical conditions. The paper concludes with such a review, together with suggestions for future experiments.

General Assessment of Convection Heat Transfer Correlations for Multiple Geometries and Fluids at Supercritical Pressure

“…Several reviews of convective heat transfer correlations at SC pressure have been published, for example, overviews and assessments of supercritical heat transfer (SCHT) correlations against both SC water and SC CO 2 data for tube [2][3][4][5][6][7], an assessment of correlations [8][9][10], and an updated assessment of correlations based on rod bundle water data [11].…”

Assessment of Convective Heat Transfer Correlations Against an Expanded Database for Different Fluids at Supercritical Pressures

“…However, the change remains obvious at pseudo-critical point. 2 The implications on momentum and energy transport include significant differences in velocity and temperature fields in the radial direction from those for uniform properties at low-subcritical pressures. And, under certain flow conditions, buoyancy, and acceleration effects, attributed mainly to large changes in density, start influencing heat transfer.…”

“…Several reviews of convective heat transfer correlations at SC pressure have been published. For example, the studies [2][3][4][5][6][7] presented overviews and assessments of supercritical heat transfer (SCHT) correlations against both SC water and SC CO 2 data for tube. References [8][9][10] and recently [11], based on their rodbundle water data, presented a more up-to-date assessment of correlations.…”

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

“…Instead, the viewpoint that supercritical fluid was analogous to subcritical fluid has prevailed in the past few decades. Hall [29] briefly surveyed the existing experimental data of supercritical fluids, and suggested that heat transfer at supercritical pressure was accompanied by a "boiling-like" phenomenon. Goldmann [30] proposed that an unusual heat transfer mode could be explained by a boiling-like phenomenon resembling nucleate boiling.…”