Microconfined High-Pressure Transcritical Channel Flow Database: Laminar, Transitional & Turbulent Regimes

Abstract

Abstract The potential of comprehending and managing microscale flows to enhance energy processes, especially in heat transfer and propulsion applications, remains largely untapped particularly for supercritical fluids, which have gained increased interest over the past years due to the higher power and thermodynamic efficiencies they provide. This work, therefore, presents the first comprehensive, open-source dataset carefully curated and structured for studying microconfined high-pressure transcritical fluid channel flows under various regimes. Particularly, the dataset contains 18 direct numerical simulations of carbon dioxide at different bulk pressures and velocities confined between differentially-heated walls. For all cases, the thermodynamic conditions selected impose the fluid to undergo a transcritical trajectory across the pseudo-boiling region. The data collection comprises an array of physical quantities that enable comprehensive parametric analyses spanning laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow regimes. This data repository is poised to provide access to the detailed study and modeling of the complex flow physics observed in high-pressure transcritical fluids, especially those closely linked to improving microfluidics performance.