Review on heat transfer and flow characteristics of liquid sodium (1): Single-phase

Single-phase liquid sodium as a kind of ideal coolant is widely applied in the fields of nuclear reactor engineering, aerospace, solar energy and industrial waste heat utilization, due to the good heat transfer and flow characteristics. Therefore, numerous studies have been carried out experimentally and theoretically to investigate the heat and mass transfer performance by using liquid sodium in past decades, and most of them are concentrated on the experimental results, mechanisms and models of heat transfer and flow of liquid sodium. However, no comprehensive review article concerns on the thermal hydraulic characteristics of single-phase for liquid sodium. Thus, in this study, an analytical overview on thermal hydraulic characteristics of single-phase for liquid sodium is presented, using widely scattered available information from existing literature. It can be taken into account as a quick reference guide to have an overview of the thermal hydraulic characteristics of single-phase for liquid sodium in different channel geometries (circular tube, annular tube and rod bundles etc.) under different conditions.