On the Use of a Buoyancy Parameter for Distinguishing Deteriorated From Normal Heat Transfer in Upward Flows at Supercritical Pressures

An extensive analysis of two versions of a buoyancy parameter as supercritical heat transfer deterioration (DHT) identifiers was conducted for large databases obtained in carbon dioxide flowing through three electrically heated tubes with internal diameters equal to 4.6, 8.0, and 22.0 mm and in Refrigerant R134a through an 8.0 mm tube. For the first time, buoyancy parameter profiles along each tube were considered for wide ranges of closely incremented operating conditions. The occurrence of DHT in each test section was first assessed confidently by observation of wall temperature profiles and comparison of measurements with wall temperature predictions of a correlation for normal heat transfer (NHT). The objective of this work was to determine whether a universal buoyancy parameter threshold could be used as a means for identifying DHT in a test section. It was found that correction factors were required for both parameters to account for an observed shift of the threshold for DHT occurrence, as the mass flux was changed. The resulting threshold for one of the buoyancy parameters identified correctly DHT for cases having a mass flux up to a certain value, but failed to do so for cases with a higher mass flux.