Heat transfer characteristics of supercritical water in channels: A systematic literature review of 20 years of research

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• More experiments are required to validate the existing the turbulence model. • Turbulence model with Algebraic heat flux model (AHFM) may be promising. • Heat transfer peak occurs as the fluid approaches the pseudo-critical temperature. • To achieve the high accuracy, piecewise correlation may be an effective method. • Internally ribbed tube combined with inclined angles may be a research direction. Supercritical water (SCW) is one of the high-profile fluids between scholars, which has great potential in the thermal industry. Therefore, it may serve as a promising fluid utilized in nuclear and boiler systems. This paper presents a comprehensive review in terms of the published literature on supercritical water heat transfer in channels. Three types of heat transfer, involving normal, enhanced and deteriorated heat transfer, are classified in this article. Firstly, the thermo-physical properties of supercritical water are illustrated to explain the reasons for the different heat transfer behavior. Heat transfer enhancement and deterioration appear to have greater potential and draw some researchers’ interest. In short, transformation of geometry or operating conditions, such as, channel structure, mass flux and heat flux, would induce variations of thermo-physical properties. Consequently, heat transfer performance can be significantly affected. The heat transfer characterization and affecting factors were evaluated. Some unusual phenomena were explained. Then, the developed heat transfer coefficients (HTC) were compared with the experimental data available in the open literature. The results indicated that the reliable accuracy could be achieved through these correlations except the pseudo-critical region. Additionally, the mechanism and the onset of heat transfer deterioration were revealed and estimated. Finally, this review also identifies the current challenges regarding this research through analysis and comparison. These challenges deserve to be efficiently solved and optimized to enhance supercritical water heat transfer in the future.