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Application of Supercritical Fluids in Power Engineering
Application of Supercritical Fluids in Power Engineering
). Thermophysical
properties of 105 pure fluids including water, carbon dioxide, helium, refrigerants, etc., 5 pseudo-pure fluids
(such as air) and mixtures with up to 20 components at different pressures and temperatures, including critical
and supercritical regions, can be calculated using the NIST REFPROP software [7]. Critical parameters of
selected fluids are listed in Table 1.
5
(a) (b)
Figure 4. Pressure-Temperature diagram for water (a) and carbon dioxide (b).
Axial Location, m
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
,
o
C
300
350
400
450
600
550
500
Bulk Fluid Enthalpy, kJ/kg
1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800
H
T
C
,
k
W
/
m
2
K
2
4
8
12
16
20
28
36
Heated length
Bulk fluid temperature
t
in
t
out
In
s
id
e
w
a
ll te
m
p
e
ra
tu
re
Heat transfer coefficient
p
in
=24.0 MPa
G=503 kg/m
2
s
Q=54 kW
q
ave
= 432 kW/m
2
C 381.1 t
o
pc
=
H
pc
Dittus - Boelter correlation
DHT Improved HT
Normal HT
Normal HT
(a) (b)
Figure 5. Temperature and HTC profiles along heated length of vertical circular tubes with upward flow [4]: (a)
Water, ID 10 mm; and (b) Carbon Dioxide, ID 8 mm.
Table 1. Critical parameters of selected fluids [7].
Fluid P
cr
, MPa T
cr
, C
cr
, kg/m
3
Carbon dioxide (CO
2
) 7.3773 30.98 467.6
Freon-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, CH
2
FCF
3
) 4.0593 101.06 511.9
Helium (He) 0.2276 -267.95 72.567
Water (H
2
O) 22.064 373.95 322.0
At critical and supercritical pressures a fluid is considered as a single-phase substance in spite of the fact that all
thermophysical properties undergo significant changes within the critical and pseudocritical regions. Near the
6
critical point, these changes are dramatic. In the vicinity of pseudocritical points, with an increase in pressure,
these changes become less pronounced (see Figs. 6 - 9).
Also, it can be seen that properties such as density and dynamic viscosity undergo a significant drop (near the
critical point this drop is almost vertical) within a very narrow temperature range (see Figs. 6a,b and 7a,b), while
the kinematic viscosity and specific enthalpy undergo a sharp increase (for details see [4]). The volume
expansivity, specific heat, thermal conductivity and Prandtl number have peaks near the critical and
pseudocritical points (see Figs. 8a,b and 9a,b). The magnitude of these peaks decreases very quickly with an
increase in pressure. Also, peaks transform into humps profiles at pressures beyond the critical pressure. It
should be noted that the dynamic viscosity, kinematic viscosity and thermal conductivity undergo through their
minimum right after the critical and pseudocritical points.
Specifics of forced-convection heat transfer at supercritical pressures can be found in [4] and [8-12]
Figure 6a. Density vs. Temperature: Water. Figure 6b. Density vs. Temperature:
Carbon Dioxide.
Figure 7a. Dynamic viscosity vs. Temperature: Water. Figure 7b. Dynamic viscosity vs. Temperature:
Carbon Dioxide.
7
Figure 8a. Specific heat vs. Temperature: Water. Figure 8b. Specific heat vs. Temperature: Carbon
Dioxide.
Figure 9a. Thermal conductivity vs. Temperature:
Water.
Figure 9b. Thermal conductivity vs. Temperature:
Carbon Dioxide.
CONCLUSIONS
Supercritical fluids are used quite intensively in various industries. The application of supercritical
water/steam in the power industry has significantly increased the thermal efficiency of power plants. Based on
this experience, the next-generation of nuclear power plants have planned to use supercritical-fluid power cycles
such as the Rankine steam cycle and the supercritical carbon-dioxide Brayton gas-turbine cycle.
NOMENCLATURE
A flow area, m
2
c
p
specific heat at constant pressure, J/kg K
D inside diameter, m
G mass flux, kg/m
2
s;
|
|
.
|
\
|
fl
A
m
H specific enthalpy, J/kg
h heat transfer coefficient, W/m
2
K
k thermal conductivity, W/m K
8
m mass-flow rate, kg/s; ( ) V
P, p pressure, MPa
Q heat-transfer rate, W
q heat flux, W/m
2
;
|
|
.
|
\
|
h
A
Q
T, t temperature, C
u axial velocity, m/s
V volume-flow rate, m
3
/kg or volume, m
3
Greek Letters
thermal diffusivity, m
2
/s;
|
|
.
|
\
|
p
c
k
dynamic viscosity, Pa s
density, kg/m
3
u kinematic viscosity, m
2
/s
Non-dimensional Numbers
Nu Nusselt number; |
.
|
\
|
k
D h
Pr Prandtl number;
|
.
|
\
|
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
o
u
k
c
p
Re Reynolds number;
|
|
.
|
\
|
D G
Subscripts or superscripts
ave average
b bulk
cal calculated
cr critical
ext external
fl flow
h heated
in inlet
mixer mixer (chamber)
out outlet or outside
pc pseudocritical
w wall
Abbreviations and acronyms widely used in the
text and list of references
CHF Critical Heat Flux
DHT Deteriorated Heat Transfer
DOE Department Of Energy (USA)
HT Heat Transfer
HTC Heat Transfer Coefficient
HTR High Temperature Reactor
(helium cooled)
ID Inside Diameter
IHT Improved Heat Transfer
LFR Lead-cooled Fast Reactor
NHT Normal Heat Transfer
NIST National Institute of Standards
and Technology (USA)
NPP Nuclear Power Plant
REFPROP REFerence PROPerties
SCW SuperCritical Water
SCWR SuperCritical Water-cooled
Reactor
SFR Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor
USA United States of America
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
REFERENCES
[1] Levelt Sengers, J.M.H.L., Supercritical fluids: Their properties and applications, Chapter 1, in book:
Supercritical Fluids, editors: E. Kiran et al., NATO Advanced Study Institute on Supercritical Fluids
Fundamentals and Application, NATO Science Series, Series E, Applied Sciences, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Netherlands, Vol. 366, 2000, p. 1.
[2] Schmidt, E., Eckert, E. and Grigull, V., Heat transfer by liquids near the critical state, AFF Translation, No.
527, Air Materials Command, Wright Field, Dayton, OH, USA, April, 1946.
[3] Pioro, L.S. and Pioro, I.L., Industrial Two-Phase Thermosyphons, Begell House, New York, NY, USA,
1997, 288 pages.
[4] Pioro, I.L. and Duffey, R.B., Heat Transfer and Hydraulic Resistance at Supercritical Pressures in Power
Engineering Applications, ASME Press, New York, NY, USA, 2007, 328 pages.
[5] Kruglikov, P.A., Smolkin, Yu.V. and Sokolov, K.V., Development of engineering solutions for thermal
scheme of power unit of thermal power plant with supercritical parameters of steam, (In Russian), Proc.
Int. Workshop "Supercritical Water and Steam in Nuclear Power Engineering: Problems and Solutions,
Moscow, Russia, October 2223, 2009, 6 pages.
[6] Pioro, I.L., Thermophysical properties at critical and supercritical pressures, Section 5.5.16 in Heat
Exchanger Design Handbook, Begell House, New York, NY, USA, 2008, 14 pages.
[7] Lemmon, E.W., Huber, M.L. and McLinden, M.O. NIST Standard Reference Database 23: Reference Fluid
Thermodynamic and Transport Properties-REFPROP, Version 9.0, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Standard Reference Data Program, Gaithersburg, 2010.
9
[8] Pioro, I., The Potential Use of Supercritical Water-Cooling in Nuclear Reactors. Chapter in Nuclear Energy
Encyclopedia: Science, Technology, and Applications, Editors: S.B. Krivit, J.H. Lehr and Th.B. Kingery, J.
Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2011, p. 309.
[9] Pioro, I. and Mokry, S., Thermophysical Properties at Critical and Supercritical Conditions, Chapter in
book Heat Transfer. Theoretical Analysis, Experimental Investigations and Industrial Systems, Editor: A.
Belmiloudi, INTECH, Rijeka, Croatia, 2011, p. 573.
[10] Pioro, I. and Mokry, S., Heat Transfer to Fluids at Supercritical Pressures, Chapter in book Heat Transfer.
Theoretical Analysis, Experimental Investigations and Industrial Systems, Editor: A. Belmiloudi,
INTECH, Rijeka, Croatia, 2011, p. 481.
[11] Pioro, I., Mokry, S. and Draper, Sh., Specifics of Thermophysical Properties and Forced-Convective Heat
Transfer at Critical and Supercritical Pressures, Reviews in Chemical Engineering, Vol. 27, Issue 3-4,
2011, p. 191.
[12] Mokry, S., Pioro, I.L., Farah, A., King, K., Gupta, S., Peiman, W. and Kirillov, P., Development of
Supercritical Water Heat-Transfer Correlation for Vertical Bare Tubes, Nuclear Engineering and Design,
Vol. 241, 2011, p. 1126.