Numerical Study of the Effects of Different Buoyancy Models on Supercritical Flow and Heat Transfer

Due to the dramatic changes in physical properties, the flow and heat transfer in supercritical fluid are significantly affected by buoyancy effects, especially when the ratio of inlet mass flux and wall heat flux is relatively small. In this study, the heat transfer of supercritical water in uniformly heated vertical tube is numerically investigated with different buoyancy models which are based on different calculation methods of the turbulent heat flux. The applicabilities of these buoyancy models are analyzed both in heat transfer enhancement and deterioration conditions. The simulation results show that these buoyancy models make few differences and give good wall temperature prediction in heat transfer enhancement condition when the ratio of inlet mass flux and wall heat flux is very small. With the increase of wall heat flux, the accuracy of wall temperature prediction reduces, and the differences between these buoyancy models become larger. No buoyancy model can currently make accurate wall temperature prediction in deterioration condition in this study.