Experimental and numerical study on heat transfer and flow characteristics of molten salt nanofluids in spiral-wound tube heat exchanger

Molten salt is one of the most promising heat transfer and thermal energy storage medium for the third-generation solar thermal power generation, and the spiral-wound tube heat exchanger can improve the heat transfer performance of molten salt. In this paper, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of molten salt nanofluids in spiral-wound tubes are experimentally and numerically studied. Molten salt nanofluids and synthetic oil as the heat transfer fluids, the heat transfer performance of them in the spiral-wound tube heat exchanger were studied. The Wilson separation method was used to process the experimental data, and the heat transfer correlation of molten salt nanofluids is obtained through experiments. The heat transfer correlation can be in good agreement with the experimental data, the heat transfer correlation on the molten salt nanofluids side is Nu = 0.3897Re(0.4370) Pr-1/3, Re = 4296-8348, Pr = 13-23, and the maximum error is 17.9%. A three-dimensional model of the spiral-wound tube heat exchanger is used to explore the distribution of the pressure, temperature and velocity fields of the molten salt nanofluids. The friction factor correlation on the molten salt nanofluids side is f = 4.6729Re(-0.4855), Re = 3536-17684, Pr = 13-23 and the maximum error is 12.65%. The heat transfer correlation and resistance correlation of molten salt nanofluids obtained in this paper can contribute to the design of heat exchanger for the third-generation solar thermal power.

Automated summary

This study experimentally and numerically investigated the flow and heat transfer characteristics of molten salt nanofluids in spiral-wound tubes. The heat transfer correlation and resistance correlation of molten salt nanofluids were obtained through experiments, and the distribution of pressure, temperature, and velocity fields of the nanofluids was explored using a three-dimensional model. These findings are significant for the design of heat exchangers in third-generation solar thermal power systems.