A method of extending subcritical heat transfer correlations to supercritical conditions

•A new method of developing heat transfer formulas under supercritical conditions was proposed.•The method was based on the modified thermal wall law.•Based on this method, the Dittus-Boelter formula and Gnielinski formula were extended to supercritical water.•The comparison of experimental data and predicted values shows good agreement.

An analytical method was proposed up for the prediction of heat transfer coefficient under supercritical conditions. The new heat transfer correlation was based on the modified thermal law of the wall which could take account of the fluid property variation across the boundary layer and could help clarify the basic heat transfer mechanism of supercritical water. Based on this method, the Dittus-Boelter correlation and Gnielinski correlation were extended to supercritical water. The comparisons of experimental data and predicted values showed good agreement which confirmed the physical validity of this method. Moreover, this method could build a bridge between subcritical region and supercritical region.