Numerical study on convective heat transfer of supercritical CO2 in vertically upward and downward tubes

The experimental measurement of supercritical pressure carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) heat transfer in vertical downward flow was performed in a circular tube with inner diameter of 10 mm. Then, a three-dimensional numerical investigation of sCO 2 heat transfer in upward and downward flows was performed in a vertical heated circular tube. The influence of heat flux, mass flux, and operating pressure on heat transfer under different flow directions were discussed. According to the “pseudo-phase transition” viewpoint to supercritical fluids, the analogy to the subcritical inverted-annular film boiling model, the physical model to sCO 2 heat transfer was established, where fluid region at the cross-section of circular tube was divided into gas-like region covering heated wall and core liquid-like phase region. Then, the thermal resistance mechanism which comprehensively reflected the effect of multiple factors including the thickness of the gas-like film or liquid-like region, fluid properties and turbulence on heat diffusion was proposed. Surprisingly, thermal resistance variation in upward flow is well identical with that of wall temperature and heat transfer deterioration is predicted successfully. In addition, compared with thermal resistance in the core liquid-like region, gas-like film formation is determined to be the primary factor affecting heat transfer behavior. Results also show that total thermal resistance in upward flow is always larger than that in downward flow. The investigation can provide valuable guide to design and optimize sCO 2 heaters.