Study on supercritical methane flow and heat transfer performance in a 180-degree curved duct

In this paper, an investigation into flow and heat transfer performance of supercritical methane (S-CH4) in a 180-degree curved circular duct has been numerically carried out. The mathematical description of energy equation induced by the Dean vortices under the Cartesian-coordinate is first deduced. After validating the dynamic computational fluid dynamics model and method against the public experimental data, the effect of mass flux on the thermodynamics properties of S-CH4 is revealed. The calculation results show that due to the centrifugal force, the low temperature of S-CH4 gathers near the outer wall generatrix. Meanwhile, owing to the existence of multiple Dean vortices, all thermophysical parameters on the 90° cross-section are symmetrically concave along the vertical axis. The core position of multiple Dean vortices inside the curved duct is closer to the inner wall generatrix, which makes the velocity fluctuation greater. The maximum value of circumferential heat transfer coefficient on different cross-sections differs, and the non-uniform flow development process occurs inside the curved duct. Compared to the straight duct, when the mass fluxes are respectively 300 kg/m2 · s and 600 kg/m2 · s, the magnitude of increase in heat transfer coefficient of curved duct presents 18.8% and 23.5%. In addition, the forced convection caused by the secondary flow inside curved duct is so strong that the natural convection by the gravity could be neglected. The research outcome is of vital importance for the optimization design of liquefied natural gas vaporizer.