Sensitivity Analysis of Influencing Factors of Supercritical Methane Flow and Heat Transfer in a U-Tube

Lingbo Zhu, Yiping Lu, Jianfei Tong, Tianjiao Liang, Youlian Lu, Weida Fu, Bin Wang and Yunan Zhang
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Lingbo Zhu: Department of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Yiping Lu: Department of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Jianfei Tong: Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Tianjiao Liang: Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Youlian Lu: Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Weida Fu: Department of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Bin Wang: Department of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Yunan Zhang: Department of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: Due to the existence of a Dean vortex in a U-tube, the flow and heat transfer process of supercritical methane is complex, and its thermophysical property are greatly influenced by different factors. Based on computational fluid dynamics theory, the numerical simulation of the turbulent flow and heat transfer characteristics of supercritical methane in a U-tube with an inner diameter of 10 mm and a radius of curvature of 27 mm carried out by using the finite volume method. On the basis of verifying the reliability of the model, the influences of inlet mass flux ( G ), heat flux on the tube wall boundary ( q ), pressure on the outlet ( P ), and gravity acceleration factors ( g ) on heat transfer characteristics were analyzed. The calculation results show that the sensitivity of the effects of G , q , P , and g on the heat transfer coefficient is, from large to small, in the order of P , G , g , and q . Compared with a horizontal straight tube, a U-tube can significantly improve heat transfer in the elbow part, but the presence of the elbow reduces heat transfer in the subsequent straight pipe section. The research in this paper has significance as a reference for the construction of the LNG gasification process.

Keywords: supercritical methane; computational fluid dynamics; U-tube; convective heat transfer; sensitivity analysis; flow characteristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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