Experimental investigation of heat transfer for supercritical pressure water flowing in vertical annular channels

An experiment has recently been completed at Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) to obtain wall-temperature measurements at supercritical pressures with upward flow of water inside vertical annuli. Two annular test sections were constructed with annular gaps of 4 and 6 mm, respectively, and an internal heater of 8 mm outer diameter. Experimental-parameter ranges covered pressures of 23–28 MPa, mass fluxes of 350–1000 kg/m2/s, heat fluxes of 200–1000 kW/m2, and bulk inlet temperatures up to 400 °C. Depending on the flow conditions and heat fluxes, two distinctive heat transfer regimes, referring to as the normal heat transfer and deteriorated heat transfer, have been observed. At similar flow conditions, the heat transfer coefficients for the 6 mm gap annular channel are larger than those for the 4 mm gap annular channel. A strong effect of spiral spacer on heat transfer has been observed with a drastic reduction in wall temperature at locations downstream of the device in the annuli. Two tube-data-based correlations have been assessed against the experimental heat transfer results. The Jackson correlation agrees with the experimental trends and overpredicts slightly the heat transfer coefficients. The Dittus–Boelter correlation is applicable only for the normal heat transfer region but not for the deteriorated heat transfer region.

► Two annular test sections were constructed with annular gaps of 4 and 6 mm. ► Two heat transfer regions have been observed: normal and deteriorated heat transfer. ► The spacer enhances the heat transfer at downstream locations. ► The Jackson correlation agrees quite closely with the experimental data.