Experiments were performed to investigate the effects of buoyancy on heat transfer characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide in heating mode. Turbulent flows with Reynolds numbers up to 60,000, at operating pressures of 7.5, 8.1, and 10.2 MPa, were tested in a round tube. Local heat transfer coefficients were obtained from measured wall temperatures over a large set of experimental parameters that varied inlet temperature from 20 to 55°C, mass flux from 150 to , and a maximum heat flux of . Horizontal, upward, and downward flows were tested to investigate the unusual heat transfer characteristics due to the effect of buoyancy and flow acceleration caused by large variation in density. In the case of upward flow, severe localized deterioration in heat transfer was observed due to reduction in the turbulent shear stress and is characterized by a sharp increase in wall temperature. In the case of downward flow, turbulent shear stress is enhanced by buoyancy forces, leading to an enhancement in heat transfer. In the case of horizontal flow, flow stratification occurred, leading to a circumferential variation in wall temperature. Thermocouples mounted 180° apart on the tube revealed that the wall temperatures on the top side are significantly higher than the bottom side of the tube. Buoyancy factor calculations for all the test cases indicated that buoyancy effects cannot be ignored even for horizontal flow at Reynolds numbers as high as 20,000. Experimentally determined Nusselt numbers are compared to existing correlations available in the literature. Existing correlations predicted the experimental data within , with maximum deviation around the pseudocritical point.
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July 2015
Research Papers
Investigation of Buoyancy Effects on Heat Transfer Characteristics of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in Heating Mode
Sandeep R. Pidaparti,
Sandeep R. Pidaparti
Georgia Institute of Technology,
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
, Atlanta 30332
, GA
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Jacob A. McFarland,
Jacob A. McFarland
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Missouri
, Columbia 65211
, MO
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Mark M. Mikhaeil,
Mark M. Mikhaeil
Georgia Institute of Technology,
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
, Atlanta 30332
, GA
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Mark H. Anderson,
Mark H. Anderson
Department of Engineering Physics,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison 53706
, WI
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Devesh Ranjan
Devesh Ranjan
1
Georgia Institute of Technology,
e-mail: devesh.ranjan@me.gatech.edu
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
, Atlanta 30332
, GA, e-mail: devesh.ranjan@me.gatech.edu
1Corresponding author.
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Sandeep R. Pidaparti
Georgia Institute of Technology,
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
, Atlanta 30332
, GA
Jacob A. McFarland
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Missouri
, Columbia 65211
, MO
Mark M. Mikhaeil
Georgia Institute of Technology,
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
, Atlanta 30332
, GA
Mark H. Anderson
Department of Engineering Physics,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison 53706
, WI
Devesh Ranjan
Georgia Institute of Technology,
e-mail: devesh.ranjan@me.gatech.edu
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
, Atlanta 30332
, GA, e-mail: devesh.ranjan@me.gatech.edu
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received September 23, 2014; final manuscript received December 20, 2014; published online May 20, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Dmitry Paramonov.
ASME J of Nuclear Rad Sci. Jul 2015, 1(3): 031001 (10 pages)
Published Online: May 20, 2015
Article history
Received:
September 23, 2014
Revision Received:
December 20, 2014
Accepted:
January 12, 2015
Online:
May 20, 2015
Citation
Pidaparti, S. R., McFarland, J. A., Mikhaeil, M. M., Anderson, M. H., and Ranjan, D. (May 20, 2015). "Investigation of Buoyancy Effects on Heat Transfer Characteristics of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in Heating Mode." ASME. ASME J of Nuclear Rad Sci. July 2015; 1(3): 031001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029592
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