A numerical investigation of the thermal characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) flowing through mini serpentine channels

Abstract

In this study, we numerically investigate the heat transfer characteristics of CO2 during phase transitions in its supercritical state in serpentine channels. Four different inclination angles are applied to three different radii of curvature flow channels with the same diameter of 2 mm. The supercritical state is maintained by assuming that the mass flux is approximately 191 kg/m2s, the inlet temperature is 298.15 K, and the operating pressure is 7.65 MPa. To ensure a consistent total heat input, different heat flux values are applied to the three different cases, eliminating the potential impact of the increased surface area on the heat transfer performance and allowing a clearer investigation of the geometric effects within the same temperature range. In a channel with a constant radius of curvature, the centrifugal force has a dominant influence on the heat flow compared to gravitational buoyancy, showing a flow phenomenon independent of the angle. In contrast, in a flow channel with a varying radius of curvature, the gravitational buoyancy fluctuates depending on the local area. As a result, the ratio of the centrifugal force to the gravitational buoyancy decreases, causing more variations with changes in the inclination angle. As the centrifugal force contributes significantly to turbulent mixing, the average heat transfer coefficient is highest in the flow channel with the shortest wavelength. As the wavelength increases, the ratio of centrifugal force to buoyancy begins to affect density stratification, especially in gas-like regions, leading to buoyancy. The local heat transfer coefficient at points around the circumference of the cross-section affected by buoyancy and in the film is analyzed, which is closely related to the centrifugal buoyancy and gravitational buoyancy, and their ratio. To express this influence in a correlation equation, a new Nu correlation with an error of less than 25 % is proposed using De, which combines the centripetal force and Reynolds number, ratio of centrifugal buoyancy and gravitational buoyancy, Ф, and Pr as.Nu=0.849De0.541∅-0.154Pr-0.160