A computational model of a transcritical R744 ejector based on a homogeneous real fluid approach

A mathematical model of the compressible transonic single- and two-phase flow of a real fluid is discussed in this paper. The model was originally developed to simulate a refrigerant flow through a heat pump ejector. In the proposed approach, a temperature-based energy equation is replaced with an enthalpy-based formulation, in which the specific enthalpy, instead of the temperature, is an independent variable. A thermodynamic and mechanical equilibrium between gaseous and liquid phases is assumed for the two-phase flow. Consequently, real fluid properties, such as the density, the dynamic viscosity and the diffusion coefficient, are defined as functions of the pressure and the specific enthalpy. The energy equation formulation is implemented in commercial CFD software using subroutines that were developed in-house. The formulations was tested extensively for a single-phase flow of the R141b refrigerant, and for a two-phase flow of the R744 fluid (carbon dioxide) that occurred in a 3-D model of the ejector motive nozzle. In the model validation procedure, a satisfactory comparison between the experimental and computational results of the primary and secondary mass flow rates was obtained for both flow regimes. In addition, in the case of the R744 flow, the pressure distribution along the centre line of the ejector was accurately predicted as well. Furthermore, the results also shows that geometry modelling and measurement accuracy play an important in the final numerical results. As a result of the reasonable computational times, this method can be effectively used for the design of ejectors and also in geometric optimisation computations.