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Review and Analysis of Heat Transfer Correlations For Horizontal Pseudocritical CO2 Heat Exchanger Applications

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1833561· OSTI ID:1833561
 [1];  [1]
  1. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)

There is significant interest in the development of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycles because of the potential for smaller and more energy efficient systems than a steam Rankine cycle. Heat exchanger designs typically use empirical correlations, but the applicability of these correlations near the CO2 critical point is a potential issue. Though numerous correlations have been proposed in the literature, there are some disagreements when it comes to the accuracy. The current work recognizes the role of thermophysical properties, and its impacts on the heat transfer correlations and cycle efficiency. Heat transfer correlations proposed for horizontal flow inside circular pipes were analyzed with the help of numerical simulations. Steady state RANS simulations were performed using SST k-w turbulence model to evaluate the Nusselt number empirical correlations. It was found that the most of correlations (except Yoon) produced a Nusselt number that differed significantly with the one predicted numerically. Some of the correlations were developed for pure forced convection regime and as mentioned in Lin et al. do not account for mixed convection or free convection effects. Based on the limited observation, it appears that Yoon et al. predictions match well with the numerically predicted Nusselt Numbers. However, further analysis is required understand the applicability of various correlations and is contingent on accurate measurements or predictions of wall temperature profiles in the axial and the circumferential directions.

Research Organization:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
OSTI ID:
1833561
Report Number(s):
DOE/NETL-2021/2842
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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