Numerical analysis for steady-state two-dimensional heat transfer from a flat plate at one side of a duct containing pressurized He II Original Research Article

A computer code of two-dimensional heat transfer in superfluid helium named SUPER-2D was developed based on the two fluid model and the theory of the mutual friction. Critical heat fluxes (CHFs) on a flat plate located at one end of six rectangular ducts having different cross-sectional areas were calculated by using the SUPER-2D for temperatures ranging from 1.8 to 2.07 K in pressurized He II. The ratios of the cross-sectional area to heated area, Ad/Ah, were varied from 1.0 to 3.5. As the ratio increased, the CHFs rapidly increased and approached a constant value. The solutions agreed with the experimental data by Tatsumoto et al. [Adv. Cryog. Eng. 45 (1999) 1073] for the same structures of the ducts and corresponding experimental conditions. It was found from the analysis that several vortices are generated around the heated surface and play an important role in determining the CHF.