Experimental study on thermal-hydraulic performance of single-phase water flow in narrow rectangular channel

The purpose of this study is to discover the differences of pressure drop and heat transfer of single-phase water flow between conventional channels and narrow rectangular channels. Furthermore, the differences between the level and the vertical channel have been studied. The gap of the test channel is 1.8mm. Compared with conventional channels, the narrow rectangular channel showed differences in both flow and heat transfer characteristics. The critical Reynolds number of transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow is 900-1300, which is smaller compared with conventional channels. The friction factor is larger than that of the conventional channels and the correlation of friction factor with Reynolds number was given by experimental results. From the relation graph of Nusselt number and Reynolds number, the demarcation of the laminar flow region and turbulence flow region is obvious. In laminar region, Nusselt number almost remained constant and approximately consistent with numerical simulation results. While in turbulent region, Nusselt number increased significantly with increasing Reynolds number. A new Nusselt number correlation was obtained based on Dittus-Boelter equation, and the coefficients were less about 13% than that of Dittus-Boelter equation.