Numerical simulation of supercritical hydrothermal synthesis with phase change

A numerical method based on the preconditioned method coupled with PROPATH is applied to mixing flows of supercritical water and water liquid in a T-shape channel which is used as a reactor of supercritical hydrothermal synthesis. PROPATH has accurate thermophysical properties of gas, liquid and supercrtical-fluids. Since the thermophysical properties such as density and viscousity change anomalously near the critical point, the mixing flow of supercritical-fluid and liquid is quite different from that of gases or liquids. The calculation ignoring several thermophysical property changes indicates that accurate thermophysical properties are certainly required for evaluating supercritical-fluid flows with phase change. The prediction of buoyancy effecrt to the flows is also quite important to get the real flow fields.