脉动热管水平及小倾角条件下的传热性能

为了研究脉动热管放置方式对其传热性能的影响,以超纯水作为工质,对水平及倾角为30°放置的脉动热管的传热性能进行研究,用壁面温度振荡性能和传热热阻来描述其传热能力。在不同的放置条件下,着重分析不同加热功率和充液率(35%,50%,70%)对其传热性能的影响。研究表明：水平放置时,充液率为35%和50%时脉动热管不能启动,充液率70%时可以启动运行;脉动热管在运行时存在临界热量输入值,倾角为30°时,临界值为60 W,但水平放置条件下临界值为90 W;水平放置下的脉动热管传热热阻在不同加热功率下,显著高于倾角为30°的情况;倾角为30°,充液率为35%时的脉动热管适合在低加热功率范围运行,此时传热热阻要低于充液率为50%的情况,但传热范围很窄,传热极限低;30°倾角时,与充液率35%和50%相比,高充液率70%的脉动热管整体传热性能最优。     

单回路紫铜_水脉动热管传热性能的实验研究

实验研究了单回路紫铜—水脉动热管在水冷方式和定传热功率时,冷却水流量、倾角、管径和充液率4种因素对热管传热性能,包括管壁测点温度、冷热段均温、传热温差、传热热阻和温度振幅的影响规律,得到提高传热性能的一些措施。结果显示:水平放置的单回路脉动热管无法启动;30°以上倾角管内可产生振荡,增加倾角可降低传热热阻;定加热功率下,冷却水流量存在最佳值,过大和过小都会增加传热热阻;在脉动热管允许管径范围内,增加管径可大大降低传热热阻;相同传热功率时,30%充液率热管的传热热阻明显低于70%充液率管;小而均匀的壁温振荡比大幅锯齿状振荡时的传热性能好。     

单回路脉动热管传热特性研究

试验研究了单回路紫铜-水脉动热管在3种充液率下的传热性能,理论分析了不同加热功率和充液率下工质的干度、流速、显热和潜热及其份额的变化特性。结果显示:较小传热功率时,减小充液率或增大加热功率会提高热管的传热性能;而较高传热功率时,充液率和加热功率对热管的传热性能影响较小。增加传热功率或减小充液率,会提高管内工质的流速及流量,提高热管的潜热传热量及潜热传热份额;显热量随加热功率和充液率的增加而增大。     

常规工况下多弯头数脉动热管运行性能的实验研究

设计了两组内径1和2 mm的40个弯头细铜管组成的脉动热管,通过开启或关闭管路中的一个阀门,可以得到闭式或开式两种回路形式,分别采用R123、水及酒精为工作介质,充液率从15%变化至95%,安装角度可任意调节.通过实验,分析比较了管内径、工质种类及充液率、加热角度以及回路形式等多弯头数脉动热管在常规工况下启动及传热性能的影响.     

脉动热管运行可视化及传热与流动特性的实验研究

对脉动热管的运行进行了可视化实验 ,在不同的充灌率、倾角、截面形状、加热量条件下对脉动热管的运行进行了测试 ,实验结果表明 :脉动热管是一种十分有效的散热技术 ;脉动热管存在传热极限 ;在最佳充灌率 (5 0 % )和最佳倾角 (5 0°)下运行的脉动热管传热极限最高 ,高热流密度下的传热热阻最低 ;当热流密度较小时 ,三角形通道的脉动热管要优于正方形通道的脉动热管 ,但当热流密度较大时 ,通道形状对热阻和单位截面传热极限影响不大 ;通道大小对热管的热性能影响很小     

乙醇_水双工质脉动热管传热性能实验研究

通过对乙醇-水双工质脉动热管在风冷条件下进行的实验研究,探讨了加热功率、体积配比和充液率对热管振荡和传热性能的影响。结果显示,在实验条件下,功率小于100 W时,充液率、体积配比和加热功率对热管传热性能的影响较明显;中高功率时热管稳定性与热管中液态水体积份额有关,且随水份额增大热阻降低。而水份额低于21%时,热管稳定性较差,且水的份额越小,不稳定出现时的功率越低。50%~70%充液率热管的传热性能要优于30%充液率的热管,体积配比相当的热管振荡特性和传热性能相对较差。     

开式脉动热管传热极限的试验研究

在由内径分别为1 mm和2 mm的细铜管弯曲而成的2组40弯头开式回路脉动热管试验装置上,采用R123为工作介质,定性分析了充液率及加热方式对传热极限的影响,并将试验值与Katpradit传热极限关联式的计算值进行了比较,结果表明:随着充液率的提高,传热极限先增大而后减小,存在一个最佳充液率(约50%);在3种加热方式中,垂直底部加热有助于脉动热管取得较大的传热极限值,而垂直项部加热则对应较小的传热极限值.通过对Katpradit传热极限关联式进行适当修正,得到了新的试验关联式.     

不同充液率和加热功率下乙烷脉动热管传热性能研究

通过实验研究了在充液率为30%～70%,加热功率为10～60 W的工况下乙烷脉动热管的传热性能。结果表明:随着加热功率的增加,冷凝段和蒸发段的温度波动依次经历了低幅低频、低幅高频、高幅高频和高幅低频的振荡模式;在中低加热功率下,蒸发段和冷凝段的温度振荡波形相位角相差180°,而当高加热功率时,蒸发段和冷凝段的温度变化是同步的;在不同的加热功率下,脉动热管均在50%充液率时达到最佳传热性能;脉动热管的传热性能随加热功率的增大先增强后减弱,其存在最佳加热功率使得脉动热管的换热效率最高。     

石墨烯/丙酮纳米流体振荡热管传热特性研究

通过实验研究了不同质量浓度的石墨烯/丙酮纳米流体振荡热管不同充液率下的传热性能。结果表明,小充液率(45%)下,石墨烯/丙酮纳米流体振荡热管的热阻均小于纯工质丙酮,但烧干现象并没有得到明显改善;中等充液率(62%~70%)下,石墨烯/丙酮纳米流体振荡热管较纯工质丙酮来说不再发生烧干现象,纳米流体振荡热管的热阻随着加热功率的增加而明显降低,浓度为0.01%时具有较为明显的传热优势;大充液率(90%)下,石墨烯/丙酮纳米流体振荡热管的传热性能则普遍优于纯工质,且随着加热功率的增加,传热性能的优势更加明显。     

四氧化三铁纳米流体强化热管换热的实验研究

通过实验研究四氧化三铁（Fe3O4）纳米流体重力热管的传热性能。在不同输入功率、不同充液率、不同纳米流体质量浓度的工况下测试热管的外壁温度,再理论计算其等效对流传热系数、热阻。结果表明：当充液率为50%,输入功率为40W时,水基液重力热管和纳米流体重力热管都有最高的等效对流传热系数,并且纳米流体质量浓度为1%时,重力热管具有最高的等效对流传热系数5455.4 W.m-2.K-1,较水基液重力热管最多可增大79.1%。四氧化三铁纳米流体运用于重力热管可以有效减小其热阻、强化其传热性能。     

A novel design of pulsating heat pipe with fewer turns applicable to all orientations

This study presents a novel pulsating heat pipe (PHP) concept that is functional even when PHP is with fewer turns and is operated horizontally. Two heat pipes were made of copper capillary tubes with an overall size of 122 mm × 57 mm × 5.5 mm is investigated, one had 16 parallel square channels having a uniform cross-section of 2 mm × 2 mm (uniform CLPHP), and the other had 16 alternative size of parallel square channels (non-uniform CLPHP; a cross-section 2 mm × 2 mm and a cross-section of 1 mm × 2 mm in alternating sequence). Test results showed that the performance of PHP rises with the inclination but the uniform channel CLPHP is not functional at horizontal configuration whereas the proposed non-uniform design is still functional even at horizontal arrangement. The thermal resistance for uniform PHP is relative insensitive to change of inclination when the inclination angle exceeds certain threshold value.     

Predicting thermal instability in a closed loop pulsating heat pipe system

Mathematical models for a closed loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) with multiple liquid slugs and vapor plugs are presented in this study. The model considers the effect of thermal instability in different sections of a CLPHP at different operational conditions. Based on a neural network, an approach of nonlinear autoregressive moving average model with exogenous inputs (NARMAX) can be applied to the thermal instability of CLPHP. This study approximates the nonlinear behavior of CLPHP with a linear approximation method that can establish the relationship among the response temperature differences between evaporator, adiabatic, and condenser sections. A multi-input single-output (MISO) strategy is adopted in this study to approximate nonlinear behavior of CLPHP. The predicted results show that the effect of the three sections to vapor condensation could be precisely distinguished; meanwhile, thermal performance of CLPHP would be predicted. The development of nonlinear identification technique will be helpful to optimize and understand the heat transfer performance of thermal instability in the different designs of CLPHP.     

Numerical model of a multi-turn Closed Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe: Effects of the local pressure losses due to meanderings

A numerical code has been developed to investigate the thermal performances of Closed Loop Pulsating Heat Pipes (CLPHP). The model takes into account the effects of the local pressure losses due to the presence of turns which have always been neglected by previous models; it can simulate CLPHPs working with different fluids (ethanol, R123 and FC-72 are shown), different number of turns, various inclination angles as well as different input heat fluxes at the evaporator. Numerical results show that the local pressure losses influence the device behavior in particular for high input heat fluxes and when the CLPHP is working in the horizontal position. The trends of the total liquid momentum, maximum tube temperatures, and equivalent thermal resistances, reveal good qualitative and quantitative accordance with the experimental data available in literature. Further direct experimental validations are mandatory to confirm whether this model can be used as a preliminary CLPHP thermal design tool.     

Experimental Investigation of Pulsating Heat Pipes and a Proposed Correlation

Pulsating heat pipes are complex heat transfer devices, and their optimum thermal performance is largely dependent on different parameters. In this paper, in order to investigate these parameters, first a closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) was designed and manufactured. The CLPHP was made of copper tubes with internal diameters of 1.8 mm. The lengths of the evaporator, adiabatic, and condenser sections were 60, 150, and 60 mm, respectively. Afterward, the effect of various parameters, including the working fluid (water and ethanol), the volumetric filling ratio (30%, 40%, 50%, 70%, 80%), and the input heat power (5 to 70 W), on the thermal performance of the CLPHP was investigated experimentally. The results showed that the manufactured CLPHP has the best thermal performance for water and ethanol as working fluids when the corresponding filling ratios are 40% and 50%, respectively. Finally, with the available experimental data set of CLPHPs, a power-law correlation based on dimensionless groups was established to predict their input heat flux. Compared with the experimental data, the root-mean-square deviation of the correlation prediction was 19.7%, and 88.6% of the deviations were within ± 30%.     

Three-dimensional,two-phase,CFD model for the design of a direct methanol fuel cell

This study presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for modelling gas evolution and current distribution in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The improved two-phase model includes a new sub-model for estimating the interface mass transfer without empirical correlations. Simulation results in a horizontal channel of the DMFC agree with typical trends reported in the literature for bubbly flows. The increase in inlet flow rate is found to lead to a decrease in the gas content in the outlet of the anode channels. A case study illustrates applications of the CFD model for modelling gas evolution and current distribution in a DMFC with a parallel flow-field design. Simulation results with a improved two-phase model provide an explanation of experimental observations of a transparent DMFC with parallel channels. An improved three-dimensional CFD model includes all relevant phenomena and is valuable for gas management in a DMFC design.     

Correlation to Predict the Maximum Heat Flux of a Vertical Closed-Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe

The objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of various parameters on the maximum heat flux of a vertical closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) and the inside phenomena that cause maximum heat flux to occur. A correlation to predict the maximum heat flux using the obtained results was also established. Quantitative and qualitative experiments were conducted and analyzed. A copper CLPHP and a transparent high-temperature glass capillary tube CLPHP were used in the quantitative and qualitative experiments. From the study, it was found that when the internal diameter and number of meandering turns increased, the maximum heat flux increased. However, when the evaporator section length increased, the maximum heat flux decreased. The maximum heat flux of a CLPHP occurs due to the dry-out of liquid film at the evaporator section. This occurs after a two-phase working fluid circulation changes flow pattern from countercurrent slug flow to co-current annular flow, because the vapor velocity increases beyond a critical value. A correlation to predict the maximum heat flux obtained from this study was developed.     

Performance investigation of flat-plate CLPHP with pure and binary working fluids for PEMFC cooling

While proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) generates electricity, about half of the energy is converted into heat. According to structural characteristics and heat dissipation requirements of PEMFC, a flat-plate micro closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) cooling method is designed. The flat-plate CLPHP is an aluminum alloy plate with a thickness of 2.4 mm, and the inside is a 2.3 mm × 1.4 mm rectangular flow channel, which transfers heat mainly through the internal working fluid's vapor-liquid phase change and forced convection. The experiment tested the heat transfer performance and the internal pressure of pure working fluids methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, deionized water, and methanol-deionized water with different mass ratios. By comparison, it is found that the binary working medium methanol-deionized water with a mass ratio of 5:1 has the best startup performance, lower internal pressure, and less temperature fluctuation, which has great potential in the application of PEMFC. Through the dimensionless number correlation analysis of the internal working fluid's thermophysical parameters, a CLPHP heat flux prediction equation with an average deviation of 15.0% is fitted.     

Thermal Performance of a Closed-Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe With Multiple Heat Sources

A closed-loop pulsating heat pipe with multiple heat sources (CLPHP w/MHS) was invented to be used as a heat transfer medium between a number of heat sources to a single heat sink. However, an issue on the suitable heat source arrangement that causes the heat pipe to have the highest thermal performance was suspicious. The CLPHP w/MHS was made of a copper capillary tube with 32 turns. There were three heat sources with nonidentical input heat flux installed along a longitudinal axis in the evaporator section. Experimental investigations were conducted by permuting the heat sources into six unduplicated arrangements. For the vertical CLPHPs, the highest thermal performance is achieved when heat sources are arranged in consecutive order ascending from the lowest heat flux at the inlet of the evaporator section, since working fluid is promoted to circulate in complete one direction and then the heat can transfer more continuously. Finally, for the horizontal CLPHPs, the highest thermal performance is achieved when the heat sources are arranged in opposite order to the case of vertical CLPHPs, that is, descending from the highest heat flux, since working fluid pulsates with no intermission stop and this causes the heat transfer to be not interrupted.     

A membraneless microfluidic fuel cell with continuous multistream flow through cotton threads

In typical membraneless microfluidic fuel cells, the anolyte and catholyte are driven by syringe pumps, increasing the overall size of the system and limiting its miniaturization. In this study, a membraneless microfluidic fuel cell with continuous multistream flow through cotton threads was proposed. Cotton threads are simply laid in parallel to form flow channels. Multistream flow through cotton threads is formed without any external pumps. Cell performances under various operation conditions are evaluated. The results show that the middle stream could separate other two streams effectively to prevent the diffusive mixing of anolyte and catholyte. A peak power density of 19.9 mW cm⁻² and a limiting current density of 111.2 mA cm⁻² are delivered. Moreover, the performance improves with the sodium formate concentration rising up to 2M, while it declines at 4M fuel concentration due to the weakened convection transport and product removal caused by the low flow rate. With increasing the flow rate, the performance is enhanced because of the improved fuel transport at the anode. The good performance as well as the constant-voltage discharging curve indicates that the microfluidic fuel cell with cotton threads as flow channels provides a new direction for miniature power sources.     

A unified model for multi-turn closed-loop pulsating heat pipe

Numerical modeling of  the multi-turn closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) in the bottom, horizontal, and top heat mode is presented in this paper, with water as working fluid. Modeling is carried out for 2-mm ID CLPHP having 5, 16, and 32 turns at different orientations for 10 different cases. Momentum and heat transfer variations with time are investigated by numerically solving the one-dimensional governing equations for vapor bubble and liquid plugs. Instead of considering all the vapor bubble at saturation temperature, vapor bubbles are allowed to remain in super-heated condition. Film thickness is found using a correlation. Two-phase heat transfer coefficient is calculated by considering conduction through the thin film at liquid–vapor interface. Liquid plug merging and splitting result in continuous variation in the number of liquid plugs and vapor bubble with time, which is also considered in the code. During the merging of liquid plugs, a time step-adaptive scheme is implemented and this minimum time step was found to be 10⁻⁷ s. Model results are compared with the experimental results from literature for heat transfer and the maximum variation in heat transfer for all these cases is below ±39%.