Convective heat transfer in the laminar–turbulent transition region with molten salt in a circular tube

In order to understand the heat transfer characteristics of molten salt and testify the validity of the well-known empirical convective heat transfer correlations, experimental study on transition convective heat transfer with molten salt in a circular tube was conducted. Molten salt circulations were realized and operated in a specially designed system over 1000 h. The average forced convective heat transfer coefficients of molten salt were determined by least-squares method based on the measured data of flow rates and temperatures. Finally, a heat transfer correlation of transition flow with molten salt in a circular tube was obtained and good agreement was observed between the experimental data of molten salt and the well-known correlations presented by Hausen and Gnielinski, respectively.