Experimental study of in-tube cooling heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of R134a at supercritical pressures

The in-tube cooling flow and heat transfer characteristics of R134a at supercritical pressures are measured experimentally for various pressures and mass fluxes in a horizontal tube. The tube is made of stainless steel with an inner diameter of 4.01 mm. Experiments are conducted for mass fluxes from 70 kg/m² s to 405 kg/m² s and pressures from 4.5 MPa to 5.5 MPa. The inlet refrigerant temperature is from 80 °C to 140 °C. The results show that the refrigerant temperature, the mass flux and the pressure all significantly affect the flow and heat transfer characteristics of R134a at supercritical pressures. The experimentally measured frictional pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient are compared with predicted results from several existing correlations. The comparisons show that the predicted frictional pressure drop using Petrov and Popov’s correlation accounting for the density and viscosity variations agree well with the measured data. Gnielinski’s correlation for the heat transfer coefficient agrees best with the measured data with deviations not exceeding 25%, while correlations based on supercritical CO₂ heat transfer data overcorrect for the influence of the thermophysical property variations resulting in larger deviations. A new empirical correlation is developed based on the measured results by modifying Gnielinski’s equation with thermophysical property terms including both the property variations from the inlet to the outlet of the entire test section and from the bulk to the wall. Most of the experimental data is predicted by the new correlation within a range of 15%.     

Semi-empirical modeling of pool boiling heat transfer in binary mixtures

Pool boiling heat transfer has been investigated for various binary mixtures, including acetone/isopropanol, water/acetone, water/methanol, water/ethanol, water/isopropanol, water/monoethanolamine, water/diethanolamine and water/triethyleneglycol as test solutions. Many correlations have been developed to predict the pool boiling heat transfer coefficient in mixtures in the past few decades, however the predicted values are not confirming. In addition, the application of many existing correlations requires some individual adjusting parameters that may be not available for every system. In this investigation, a new set of experimental data are presented. These data have been compared to major existing correlations. It is observed that the pool boiling heat transfer coefficients in mixtures are less than the ideal boiling heat transfer coefficient. A new semi-empirical model has been proposed based on the mass transfer resistance to predict the boiling heat transfer coefficient with satisfactory accuracy. The new model does not include any tuning parameter and is applicable to any given binary system. The performance of the proposed model is superior to most existing correlations.     

Analysis on heat transfer correlations of supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> cooled in horizontal circular tubes

The objective of the present study is to analyze the heat transfer correlations of supercritical CO₂ cooled in horizontal circular tubes. In the paper, heat transfer correlations are first reviewed and compared with the experimental data at different heat fluxes. The results show that most of the previous correlations agree well with the experimental data under lower heat flux, but fail to predict the heat transfer coefficient well when the heat flux is as high as 33 kW/m². The study of buoyancy effect on convective heat transfer shows that buoyancy effect significantly affects the heat transfer with the increase of heat flux, and both free and forced convections operate in the turbulence flow during supercritical CO₂ cooling process. The influencing factors on heat transfer coefficient are summarized and the new correlation can be developed with the four dimensionless numbers.     

Nucleate pool boiling of aqueous solution of citric acid on a smoothed horizontal cylinder

Nucleate pool boiling heat transfer coefficients were measured during pool boiling of the mixtures of Citric acid/water on a horizontal heated Cylinder. The experiment was done at atmospheric pressure and heat fluxes up to 113 kW m⁻² and mass fraction range 0.1496–0.613 over all ranges of mass fraction, the heat transfer coefficients of the mixtures are markedly less than those in single component substances and, in particular, are dramatically deteriorated in the vicinity of both single component substances. An applicability of existing correlations to the present experimental data is discussed. As a result, it is difficult for any existing correlation to predict the true values of pool boiling heat transfer coefficients over all ranges of mass fraction in mixtures of citric acid/water. Available correlation results were not exactly adapted to experimental data and for the best estimation, a new modified model based on Stephan-Kroner has been achieved with reasonable accuracy. Also the status of bubble generation showed that nucleation site density is strictly functioning of heat flux.     

Experimental investigation in pool boiling heat transfer of ammonia/water mixture and heat transfer correlations

The nucleate pool boiling heat transfer coefficient of ammonia/water mixture was investigated on a cylindrical heated surface at low pressure of 4-8 bar and at low mass fraction of 0 < x_NH3 < 0.3 and at different heat flux. The effect of mass fraction, heat flux and pressure on boiling heat transfer coefficient was studied. The results indicate that the heat transfer coefficient in the mixture decreases with increase in ammonia mass fraction, increases with increase in heat flux and pressure in the investigated range. The measured heat transfer coefficient was compared with existing correlations. The experimental data were predicted with an accuracy of ±20% by the correlation of Calus&Rice, correlation of Stephan-Koorner and Inoue-Monde correlation for ammonia/water mixture in the investigated range of low ammonia mass fraction. The empirical constant of the first two correlations is modified by fitting the correlation to the present experimental data. The modified Calus&Rice correlation predicts the present experimental data with an accuracy of ±18% and the modified Stephan-Koorner correlation with an accuracy of ±16%.     

Heat transfer measurements and correlations for air–water flow of different flow patterns in a horizontal pipe

Heat transfer coefficients were measured and new correlations were developed for two-phase, two-component (air and water) heat transfer in a horizontal pipe for different flow patterns. Flow patterns were observed in a transparent circular pipe using an air–water mixture. Visual identification of the flow patterns was supplemented with photographic data, and the results were plotted on the flow regime map proposed by Taitel and Dukler and agreed quite well with each other. A two-phase heat transfer experimental setup was built for this study and a total of 150 two-phase heat transfer data with different flow patterns were obtained under a uniform wall heat flux boundary condition. For these data, the superficial Reynolds number ranged from 640 to 35,500 for the liquid and from 540 to 21,200 for the gas. Our previously developed robust two-phase heat transfer correlation for a vertical pipe with modified constants predicted the horizontal pipe air–water heat transfer experimental data with very good accuracy. Overall the proposed correlations predicted the data with a mean deviation of 1.0% and an rms deviation of 12%.     

Condensation heat transfer characteristics of R-22, R-134a and R-410A in small diameter tubes

The condensation heat transfer of pure refrigerants, R-22, R-134a and a binary refrigerant R-410A flowing in small diameter tubes was investigated experimentally. The condenser is a countflow heat exchanger which refrigerant flows in the inner tube and cooling water flows in the annulus. The heat exchanger is smooth, horizontal copper tube of 1.77, 3.36 and 5.35 mm inner diameter, respectively. The length of heat exchanger is 1220, 2660 and 3620 mm, respectively. The experiments were conducted at mass flux of 200–400 kg/m² s and saturation temperature of 40°C. The main results were summarized as follows: in case of single-phase flow, the single-phase Nusselt Number measured by experimental data was higher than that calculated by Gnielinski and Wu and Little correlation. The new single-phase correlation based on the experimental data was proposed in this study. In case of two-phase flow, the condensation heat transfer coefficient of R-410A for three tubes was slightly higher than that of R-22 and R-134a at the given mass flux. The condensation heat transfer coefficient of R-22 showed almost a similar value to that of R-134a. The condensation heat transfer coefficient for R-22, R-134a and R-410A increased with increasing mass flux and decreasing tube diameter. Most of the existing correlations which were proposed in the large diameter tube failed to predict condensation heat transfer. Therefore, the new condensation heat transfer correlation based on the experimental data was proposed in the present study.     

Two-phase heat transfer correlation for multi-component mixtures in the saturated flow-boiling regime

Investigations of two-phase heat transfer in the saturated flow-boiling region for multi-component mixtures has led to a proposed new correlation for the heat transfer coefficient where heat transfer of boiling is simply expressed in terms of the boiling number. This correlation was tested against the existing data on forced convective boiling heat transfer reported in the literature, giving satisfactory results; the correlation should, however, be tested further against wider data on convective heat transfer coefficients in multicomponent systems. The present lack of such data should be remedied.     

Experimental and numerical investigation on heat transfer characteristics of supercritical R1234ze(E) cooled in horizontal tubes

The heat transfer characteristics of supercritical fluids in tubes have been considered indispensable for the design and optimization of the heat exchanger and the energy conversion system. Specifically the cooling heat transfer of supercritical R1234ze(E) in horizontal tubes is a promising heat-power conversion technology; however, there is a scarcity of conducted research in available literature. The present work, the first-ever study in this direction, aims to thoroughly investigate the heat transfer characteristics of supercritical R1234ze(E) which is cooled in horizontal tubes. Experimental work was performed to thoroughly explore and inspect the heat transfer characteristics of supercritical R1234ze(E) passing through the tube of 4.12 mm diameter at 4–5 MPa pressure and 240–400 kg/m² s mass flux. Furthermore, the simulation study, supporting the experimental investigation under the same conditions of pressure and mass flux, extended the range of tube diameter up to 9.44 mm. The effects of pressure, mass flux and tube diameter on the heat transfer coefficient were carefully analyzed in the present research work. Based on the simulation results and experimental results, heat transfer correlations were newly developed by separating the region above and below the pseudo-critical temperature. The average absolute deviation between the calculated Nusselt numbers by the numerical correlation and the simulation results was found 2.87%; the average absolute deviation between the calculated Nusselt numbers by the experimental correlation and the experimental results was found 5.3%.     

Convective heat transfer to CO2 at a supercritical pressure flowing vertically upward in tubes and an annular channel

The Super-Critical Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR) has been chosen by the Generation IV International Forum as one of the candidates for the next generation nuclear reactors. Heat transfer to water from a fuel assembly may deteriorate at certain supercritical pressure flow conditions and its estimation at degraded conditions as well as in normal conditions is very important to the design of a safe and reliable reactor core. Extensive experiments on a heat transfer to a vertically upward flowing CO₂ at a supercritical pressure in tubes and an annular channel have been performed. The geometries of the test sections include tubes of an internal diameter (ID) of 4.4 and 9.0 mm and an annular channel (8 × 10 mm). The heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and Nusselt numbers were derived from the inner wall temperature converted by using the outer wall temperature measured by adhesive K-type thermocouples and a direct (tube) or indirect (annular channel) electric heating power. From the test results, a correlation, which covers both a deteriorated and a normal heat transfer regime, was developed. The developed correlation takes different forms in each interval divided by the value of parameter Bu. The parameter Bu (referred to as Bu hereafter), a function of the Grashof number, the Reynolds number and the Prandtl number, was introduced since it is known to be a controlling factor for the occurrence of a heat transfer deterioration due to a buoyancy effect. The developed correlation predicted the HTCs for water and HCFC-22 fairly well.     

Condensation heat transfer characteristics of R-22, R-134a and R-410A in a single circular microtube

The condensation heat transfer coefficients of R-22, R-134a and R-410A in a single circular microtube were investigated experimentally. The experiments are conducted without oil in the refrigerant loop. The test section is a smooth, horizontal copper tube of 1.77 mm inner diameter. The experiments were conducted at mass flux of 450-1050 kg/m² s, saturation temperature of 40 °C. The test results showed that in case of single-phase flow, the single-phase Nusselt Number measured by experimental data was higher than that calculated by Gnielinski correlation. In case of two-phase flow, the condensation heat transfer coefficient of R-410A was higher than that of R-22 and R-134a at the given mass flux. The condensation heat transfer coefficient of R-22 showed almost a similar value to that of R-134a. Most of the existing correlations which were proposed in the large diameter tube failed to predict condensing heat transfer. And also, recently proposed correlation in the single circular microtube is considered not adequate for small diameter tube. Therefore, it is necessary to develop accurate and reliable correlation to predict heat transfer characteristics in the single circular microtube.     

A critical evaluation of analytical solutions and reynolds analogy equations for turbulent heat and mass transfer in smooth tubes

A critical evaluation of recently proposed analytical solutions and Reynolds analogy based correlations for heat transfer with constant properties to turbulent flow of liquids and gases in smooth tubes is presented. A new Reynolds analogy correlation is developed which agrees with the solutions of DeissleR, and Sparrow et al., within ±2 percent. The ability of this equation to correlate constant properties heat transfer data is compared with the equations proposed by FRiend and MetzneR, and Petukhov and Popov. Both the new equation and the Petukhov and Popov equation provide a very good correlation of existing data for.7 <Pr < 50. However, the Petukhov and Popov equation yielded a better correlation of the high Schmidt number mass transfer data of six investigators. Although there is considerable disagreement among these mass transfer data, the Petukhov and Popov equation agrees with the smoothed results of four investigators within ±15 percent. Therefore, this equation is tentatively recommended for use at high Prandtl or Schmidt numbers. The recommended equation is compared to the popular Colburn and Dittus-Boelter empirical equations and is shown to be superior to both equations.     

Experimental study of the condensation heat transfer characteristics of CO2 in a horizontal microfin tube with a diameter of 4.95?mm

The condensation heat transfer characteristics for CO₂ flowing in a horizontal microfin tube were investigated by experiment with respect to condensation temperature and mass flux. The test section consists of a 2,400?mm long horizontal copper tube of 4.6?mm inner diameter. The experiments were conducted at refrigerant mass flux of 400–800?kg/m²s, and saturation temperature of 20–30?°C. The main experimental results showed that annular flow was highly dominated the majority of condensation flow in the horizontal microfin tube. The condensation heat transfer coefficient increases with decreasing saturation temperature and increasing mass flux. The experimental data were compared against previous heat transfer correlations. Most correlations failed to predict the experimental data. However, the correlation by Cavallini et al. showed relatively good agreement with experimental data in the microfin tube. Therefore, a new condensation heat transfer correlation is proposed with mean and average deviations of 3.14 and ?7.6?%, respectively.     

Comparison of the heat transfer characteristics of supercritical pressure water to that of subcritical pressure water in vertically-upward tubes

A systematic comparison was made between the forced convection heat transfer characteristics of the supercritical pressure water and that of the subcritical pressure water in vertically-upward tubes. It was found that, severe heat transfer deterioration did not occur in the vertically-upward internally-ribbed tube at supercritical pressures, and the variations in the inside wall temperature with the bulk fluid enthalpy experienced three stages, namely, the continuously increasing stage, the smoothly changing stage and another continuously increasing stage at the supercritical pressures; however, at subcritical pressures, there existed at least four stages for the variation of the inside tube wall temperature, i.e., the continuously increasing stage, the basically unchanging stage, the sharply rising stage and another continuously increasing stage. The heat transfer coefficients in the subcritical two-phase region, in which the heat transfer deterioration did not occur, were much greater than those in the heat transfer enhancement region of supercritical pressure water. In the large specific heat region of supercritical pressure water, the enhanced heat transfer was impaired by increasing the heat flux; however, in the subcritical two-phase region, the higher the heat flux, the greater the heat transfer coefficient would be. It was also found that the heat transfer deterioration of supercritical pressure water was similar in mechanism to the DNB (departure from nucleate boiling) at subcritical pressures.     

Visual measurements of droplet size in gas–liquid annular flow

Drop size distributions have been measured for nitrogen–water annular flow in a 9.67 mm hydraulic diameter duct, at system pressures of 3.4 and 17 bar and a temperature of 38 °C. These new data extend the range of conditions represented by existing data in the literature, primarily through an increase in system pressure. Since most existing correlations were developed from data obtained at lower pressures, it should be expected that the higher-pressure data presented in this paper would not necessarily follow those correlations. For two volume median correlations tested, one does not predict the new data very well, while the other only predicts those data taken at the lower pressure of 3.4 atm. An existing maximum drop size correlation predicts the current data to a reasonable approximation. Similarly, a related correlation for the Sauter mean diameter can predict the new data, provided the coefficient in the equation is adjusted.     

A new procedure for the prediction of forced convection heat transfer at near- and supercritical pressure

Based on heat transfer experiments with tubes of different inside geometry, correlations for forced convection heat transfer at near- and supercritical pressure are presented. They are of the Dittus-Boelter typeNu=CRe ^m Pr ⁿ and over the whole enthalpy range. The simple form is made possible by a new method of determining a representative specific heat capacity. At five reference temperatures heat capacities are computed with semi-empirical equations. The two highest values closest to the (pseudo-)critical state are then sorted out, because they are not relevant for turbulent flow. The average of the remaining three values represents a reasonable characteristic heat capacity. Comparisons to measurements show the very good accuracy of the new correlations. The procedure can be recommended whenever strong dependencies of fluid properties on temperature or even singularities occur.     

Heat transfer in pool boiling of ammonia/water mixture

The nonazeotropic binary mixtures such as, methanol/water, ethanol/water and ammonia/water, have variable boiling and dew points, depending on the combination of substance and those mass fraction. It is expected to have a higher performance as a result of decreasing the thermodynamically irreversible loss, when there is a relevant mass fraction. Therefore, ammonia/water mixture is expected to use as working fluid in small temperature difference power generation cycles and absorption refrigeration cycles. However, few experiments were carried out for measuring heat transfer coefficient for ammonia/water mixture in the world. An experimental study has been carried out to measure boiling heat transfer coefficient of an ammonia/water mixture on a horizontal heated surface at low pressure of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.7 MPa and at low mass fraction of 0 < C < 0.27 and at high pressure 0.7, 1.0 and 1.5 MPa and at mass fraction of 0.5 < C < 1.0 and at heat flux under critical heat flux the heat transfer coefficient are compared with existing correlations prediction and a revised correlation can be proposed to predict them well.     

Experimental study on convective heat transfer coefficient around a vertical hexagonal rod bundle

Research on convective heat transfer coefficient around a rod bundle has many diverse applications in industry. So far, many studies have been conducted in correlations related to internal and turbulent fully-developed flow. Comparison shows that Dittus-Boelter, Sieder-Tate and Petukhov have so far been the most practical correlations in fully-developed turbulent fluid flow heat transfer. The present study conducts an experimental examination of the validity of these frequently-applied correlations and introduces a manufactured test facility as well. Due to its generalizibility, the unique geometry of this test facility (hexagonal arranged, 7 vertical rods in a hexagonal tube) can fulfil extensive applications. The paper also studies the major deviation sources in data measurements, calibrations and turbulence of fluid flow in this. Finally, regarding to sufficient number of experiments in a vast fluid mean velocity range (3,800?<?Re?<?40,000), a new curve and correlation are presented and the results are compared with the above mentioned commonly-applied correlations.     

Experimental investigation on heat transfer and frictional characteristics of vertical upward rifled tube in supercritical CFB boiler

Water wall design is a key issue for supercritical Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boiler. On account of the good heat transfer performance, rifled tube is applied in the water wall design of a 600 MW supercritical CFB boiler in China. In order to investigate the heat transfer and frictional characteristics of the rifled tube with vertical upward flow, an in-depth experiment was conducted in the range of pressure from 12 to 30 MPa, mass flux from 230 to 1200 kg/(m² s), and inner wall heat flux from 130 to 720 kW/m². The wall temperature distribution and pressure drop in the rifled tube were obtained in the experiment. The normal, enhanced and deteriorated heat transfer characteristics were also captured. In this paper, the effects of pressure, inner wall heat flux and mass flux on heat transfer characteristics are analyzed, the heat transfer mechanism and the frictional resistance performance are discussed, and the corresponding empirical correlations are presented. The experimental results show that the rifled tube can effectively prevent the occurrence of Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB) and keep the tube wall temperature in a permissible range under the operating condition of supercritical CFB boiler.