Experimental study on heat transfer performance of pulsating heat pipe with refrigerants

The effects of different refrigerants on heat transfer performance of pulsating heat pipe(PHP) are investigated experimentally.The working temperature of pulsating heat pipe is kept in the range of 20℃-50℃.The startup time of the pulsating heat pipe with refrigerants can be shorter than 4 min,when heating power is in the range of 10W-100W.The startup time decreases with heating power.Thermal resistances of PHP with filling ratio 20.55% were obviously larger than those with other filling ratios.Thermal resistance of the PHP with R134a is much smaller than that with R404A and R600a.It indicates that the heat transfer ability of R134a is better.In addition,a correlation to predict thermal resistance of PHP with refrigerants was suggested.     

Experimental study on the start up performance of flat plate pulsating heat pipe

An experimental system of flat plate pulsating heat pipe was established and experimental research was carried out in this system to know the mechanism of heat transfer, start-up and operating characteristics. The factors, such as filling rate, heating power, heating method etc, which have great influence on the thermal performance of the plate pulsating heat pipe were discussed. The results indicate that heating power and filling rate are the important factors for the start-up of the plate pulsating heat pipe. The different start-up power is needed with different filling rate, and the start-up of the heat pipe in case of bottom heated is much easier than that of top heated. Increasing the heating power and enlarging the heating area can make the start-up easier. Heating power can also affect the start-up time of heat pipe under the condition of bottom heated, while it does not have some influence to the heat pipe of top heated. The thermal resistance of plate pulsating heat pipe is related with the heating power, and the higher the heating power is, the smaller the thermal resistance is. But the best filling rate which the heat pipe needs is different with different heating methods, and the performance of the heat pipe in the case of bottom heated is better than the others.     

脉动热管流型的电容层析成像识别及热管换热特性

结合高速摄像和电容层析成像技术,对脉动热管进行了可视化测量研究.从流型和流向两方面分析了脉动热管的运行机理和传热特性.根据受力分析对脉动热管的结构进行了改进.结果表明:脉动热管存在3种不同流型,即塞状流、环状流以及两者共存的混合流,其对应的影响因素、运行特性与传热强度也不同;从流动方向来看,脉动热管内工质的流动可分为脉动流和循环流;对脉动热管的改进说明改变脉动热管流道的对称性和均衡性有利于循环流的形成和维持.     

脉动热管传热性能的实验研究

对脉动热管的运行进行了可视化实验,分析了影响脉动热管运行性能的因素,并且在不同的充液率、传热量和不凝性气体含量的条件下,对脉动热管的运行进行了测试,实验结果表明:脉动热管的整体热阻受充液率、传热量、不凝性气体的影响,存在最佳的充液率,在一定的条件下脉动热管的运行达到最佳。     

Flower-type pulsating heat pipe for a solar collector

Inspired by the sunflower, we report a new structure of a solar collector that integrates a pulsating heat pipe (PHP) into a flat-plate collector. The proposed flower-type PHP solar collector is designed after a sunflower with petals that absorb sunlight and transfer nutrients to the stem after photosynthesis. The evaporator section adopts the shape of a flower to absorb sunlight fully, and the condenser section is rolled into a cylinder and placed in the lower part of the structure. A systematic experimental study is conducted upon start-up, and the performance characteristics, with acetone as the working fluid, are evaluated. We also did a heat loss analysis, which has a deviation of 8%. The effects of the mass flow rate of cooling water, filling ratio, length of the condenser section, and solar intensity are assessed. As the temperature of the heat absorber plate increases, the thermal resistance of the PHP can decrease to a minimum of 0.14°C/W. Under sunny weather conditions, the instantaneous thermal efficiency of the system with a filling ratio of 50% reaches 50%. Besides, we discussed the unstable operation conditions and possible dryout phenomenon that happened inside the PHP.     

An experimental investigation on heat transfer performance of nanofluid pulsating heat pipe

The effect of SiO2 particles on heat transfer performance of a pulsating heat pipe(PHP) was investigated experimentally.DI water was used as the base fluid and contrast medium for the PHP.In order to study and measure the character,there are SiO2 /H2 O nanofluids with different concentration and applying with various heating powers during the experiment investigation.According to the experimental result,the high fraction of SiO2 /H2 O will deteriorate the performance of PHP compared with DI water,i.e.the thermal resistance and the temperature of evaporation section increases.It is in contrary in the case of low fraction of SiO2 /H2 O.Finally,the comparison of the thermal performances between the normal operation system and the static settlement system is given.It is found that both the thermal resistance of nanofluid PHP and the temperature of the evaporation section increase after standing for a period,and it is the same trend for the temperature fluctuation at the identical heating power for PHP.     

Experimental investigations on operating characteristics of a closed loop pulsating heat pipe

The operating mechanism of the pulsating heat pipe (PHP) is not well understood and the present technology cannot predict required design parameters for a given task. The aim of research work presented in this paper is to better understand the operation regimes of the PHP through experimental investigations. A series of experiments were conducted on a closed loop PHP with 5 turns made of copper capillary tube of 2 mm in inner diameter. Two different working fluids viz. ethanol and acetone were employed. The operating characteristics were studied for the variation of heat input, filling ratio (FR) and inclination angle of the tested device. The results strongly demonstrate the effect of the filling ratio of the working fluid on the operational stability and heat transfer capability of the device. Important insight into the operational characteristics of PHP has been obtained.     

Heat transfer in a pulsating heat pipe with open end

Heat transfer in the evaporator and condenser sections of a pulsating heat pipe (PHP) with open end is modeled by analyzing thin film evaporation and condensation. The heat transfer solutions are applied to the thermal model of the pulsating heat pipe and a parametric study was performed. The results show that the heat transfer in a PHP is mainly due to the exchange of sensible heat. The frequency and amplitude of the oscillation is almost unaffected by surface tension after steady oscillation has been established. The amplitude of oscillation decreases with decreasing diameter. The amplitude of oscillation also decreases when the wall temperature of the heating section is decreased, but the frequency of oscillation is almost unchanged.     

氧化石墨烯对脉动热管传热性能的影响

实验选用外径为4mm、内径为2mm的铜质脉动热管研究了氧化石墨烯对以去离子水和体积分数为50%的乙醇溶液为工质的脉动热管传热性能的影响。实验分别采用加有少量氧化石墨烯的去离子水溶液(简称氧化石墨烯水溶液)和体积分数为50%的乙醇溶液(简称氧化石墨烯乙醇溶液),氧化石墨烯质量分数均为0.03%。实验发现：氧化石墨烯对以去离子水为工质的脉动热管传热性能具有强化作用,对以体积分数为50%的乙醇溶液为工质的脉动热管传热性能的影响较差,但都和脉动热管的加热功率密切相关。对于以去离子水为工质的脉动热管,在加热功率低于20W时,氧化石墨烯对脉动热管的强化作用较弱；当加热功率在30～60W之间时,氧化石墨烯对脉动热管的强化作用较强,在3.71～11.33%之间,且强化作用随加热功率的增大呈逐渐增强趋势；但随着功率继续增大,氧化石墨烯的强化作用逐渐减弱,当加热功率达到80W后,热管传热性能减弱,原因可能是氧化石墨烯颗粒出现了沉降现象。     

Experimental Study of Flow Patterns and Improved Configurations for Pulsating Heat Pipes

A series of experiments were performed on three types of closed loop pulsating heat pipes(PHPs),intending toinvestigate various kinds of flow patterns,and to develop some improved configurations for the PHPs.Opticalvisualization results indicated that there might exist three flow patterns,i.e.bubble-liquid slug flow,semi-annularflow and annular flow,corresponding to different working conditions.For a given geometry and an adequate fillratio,the PHPs had the self-adjusting characteristic for the flow patterns(from slug flow to semi-annular and thento annular flow)to meet the demands of the increasing heat input.Two special configurations,one with alter-nately varying channel diameter,the other equipped with one section of thicker tube,were found to be advanta-geous in establishing and maintaining reliable circulation of the working fluid.The thermal performance of thePHPs was examined over a range of working conditions.Comparing with the normal PHP with uniform diameter,either of the improved PHPs exhibited higher thermal performance.     

Theoretical study of oscillatory phenomena in a horizontal closed-loop pulsating heat pipe with asymmetrical arrayed minichannel

This study develops an analytical model applicable for predicting the oscillatory motion of a pulsating heat pipe (PHP) with asymmetrical arrayed minichannel configuration. The analytic model takes into account the temperature difference between the average evaporating region and the average condensing region as the thermally driven force for the oscillatory motion. It is found that the dominant parameters affecting the PHP include configurations and dimensions of the flow channel, the number of turns, the filled liquid ratio, the frequency ratio, the operating temperature, and the temperature difference between the average evaporating region and the average condensing region are investigated in this study. The calculated results show that the closed-loop pulsating heat pipe with asymmetrical arrayed minichannel under lower number of turns, lower filled liquid ratio, higher operating temperature and higher temperature difference between the average evaporating region and the average condensing region for the frequency ratio of unity could attain a better performance of the oscillatory motions.     

Analysis of pulsating heat pipe with capillary wick and varying channel diameter

Variation in channel diameter is investigated as a means of enhancing heat transfer in a pulsating heat pipe with capillary wick using the model presented here. The model is one-dimensional with slug flow where the momentum equation is solved for each liquid slug. The number and mass of liquid slugs are allowed to vary throughout a simulation. The energy equation is solved both in the wall and wick and in the working fluid. The effects of diameter profile, gravity, fill ratio, and heating and cooling schemes can be studied with the model. Results yield similar trends to what has been experimentally observed. Results also indicate that heat transfer can be enhanced when the diameter of the channel is varied along the channel length, thereby providing increased range of heat load capability, less sensitivity to gravity, and in some cases smaller temperature differentials.     

甲醇乙醇混合工质振荡热管传热性能研究

混合工质可为振荡热管带来独特的传热性能．比较甲醇、乙醇纯工质以及甲醇-乙醇混合工质振荡热管在不同充液率时的热阻随加热功率的变化情况,结果发现：在小充液率（45％）时甲醇-乙醇混合工质和乙醇振荡热管开始烧干时的加热功率高于甲醇工质振荡热管;在加热功率不是很大（低于65W）和大充液率（62％～90％）时,甲醇以及甲醇-乙醇混合工质振荡热管的传热性能优于乙醇振荡热管;在大加热功率（高于65W）和大充液率（62％～90％）时甲醇以及甲醇-乙醇混合工质振荡热管的热阻十分接近,均低于乙醇工质振荡热管的热阻,且热阻随着充液率的增加曲线变化越来越平缓．     

Experimental investigation of pulsating heat pipe performance with regard to fuel cell cooling application

A pulsating heat pipe (PHP) is a closed loop, passive heat transfer device. Its operation depends on the phase change of a working fluid within the loop. Design and performance testing of a pulsating heat pipe was conducted under conditions to simulate heat dissipation requirements of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack. Integration of pulsating heat pipes within bipolar plates of the stack would eliminate the need for ancillary cooling equipment, thus also reducing parasitic losses and increasing energy output. The PHP under investigation, having dimensions of 46.80 cm long and 14.70 cm wide, was constructed from 0.3175 cm copper tube. Heat pipes effectiveness was found to be dependent upon several factors such as energy input, types of working fluid and its filling ratio. Power inputs to the evaporator side of the pulsating heat pipe varied from 80 to 180 W. Working fluids tested included acetone, methanol, and deionized water. Filling ratios between 30 and 70 percent of the total working volume were also examined. Methanol outperformed other fluids tested; with a 45 percent fluid fill ratio and a 120 W power input, the apparatus took the shortest time to reach steady state and had one of the smallest steady state temperature differences. The various conditions studied were chosen to assess the heat pipe's potential as cooling media for PEM fuel cells.     

Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a U-Shaped Pulsating Heat Pipe

In this research the performance of a U-shaped pulsating heat pipe (PHP) was investigated using numerical methods. This heat pipe consists of two sections: The evaporator is set at the two ends of the pipe, and the middle part of the pipe comprises the condenser section. This heat pipe is a type of open looped pulsating heat pipe. The governing equations are derived analytically from the continuity, momentum, and energy equations and are solved implicitly. In this model, considering the liquid mesh, the rate of convection and boiling heat transfer in the U-shaped PHP, which has not been investigated as of yet, are examined. The effect of the evaporator temperature on the pulse amplitude and frequency, rate of convection, and boiling heat transfer is also investigated. The results show that by increasing the evaporator temperature, due to the increase in pulse amplitude and frequency, the rate of heat transfer due to convection and boiling in the pipe will increase too. Furthermore, it is derived that by increasing the evaporator temperature, the share of boiling heat transfer will increase. In order to validate the results, the calculated heat transfer is compared to experimental and analytical results, and it is seen that the suggested model correctly predicts the rate of heat transfer within a precise range.     

Numerical study on the effects of design parameters on the heat transfer performance of coaxial deep borehole heat exchanger

Deep borehole heat exchanger (DBHE) is attracting attention intensively owing to much more geothermal extraction, higher efficiency for heat pumps, and lesser land demand compared with shallow borehole heat exchanger. DBHE is usually dipped into several thousand meters in the subsurface, having a complicated heat transfer with surrounding rock–soil. However, the heat transfer characteristics below surface under different conditions are rarely studied. In this study, a numerical model considering the comprehensive effects of geothermal gradients and heat loss from inner pipe was proposed. The model was validated with experimental data and Beier analytical solution. Based on the model, the effects of primary design parameters on the heat transfer performance below surface along the pipe were investigated. The results indicate that temperature at pipe bottom increases with inlet flow rate decreasing, while the heat load cannot be extracted fully to the surface because of the heat loss of inner pipe. When the inlet flow rates decrease from 41.39 to 4.52 m³/h, the heat loss ratio increases from 25.5% to 63.7%. It is an effective way of insulating inner pipe to reduce heat loss under low inlet flow rates. Increasing the velocity in inner pipe by lessening the inner pipe diameter can also decline the heat loss well. While by this way, the increasing pumping power resulting from the higher velocity in inner pipe has to be considered. This study is significant to effective optimization of DBHE and energy conservation of buildings.     

脉动热管的研究综述

自从上世纪九十年代初期脉动热管问世以来,对它的研究主要是建立数学模型的理论研究,还有关于运行机理的可视化,以及充液率、管径、加热端与冷却端相对位置、工质、不凝性气体等参数对脉动热管的热性能影响的实验研究。对于脉动热管优化和设计的完整方案还需要进一步的研究。文中主要介绍了有关脉动热管研究的近期进展,并对脉动热管的进一步研究和在电子冷却中的应用做了展望。     

Experimental comparative study of heat pipe performance using CuO and TiO2 nanofluids

In recent years, developing an energy efficient conventional heat pipe is more important because of the development of electronics and computer industries. To enhance the thermal performance of heat pipe, different nanofluids have been widely used. In this paper, an experimental investigation of heat transfer performance of heat pipe has been conducted using three different working fluids such as DI water, CuO nanofluid and TiO₂ nanofluid. The heat pipe used in this study is made up of copper layered with two layers of screen mesh wick for better capillary action. The Parameters considered in this study are heat input, angle of inclination and evaporator fill ratio. The concentration of nanoparticle used in this study is of 1.0 wt.%. From the experimental results, comparisons of thermal performance were made between the heat pipes using various working fluids. Among various fill ratio charged, the heat pipe shows good thermal performance when it is operated at 75% fill ratio for all working fluids. However, the heat pipe operated with CuO nanofluid showed higher results compared with TiO₂ nanofluid and DI water. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental evidences of distinct heat transfer regimes in pulsating heat pipes (PHP)

Various experiments were conducted on two full-size pulsating heat pipes (PHP) which differed from their diameter, number of turns, and working fluid. The analysis of the experimental results showed two kind of operating curves (overall thermal resistance vs. heat rate): for low heat fluxes, the curve is irregular and the PHP performance is sensitive to the orientation. For high heat fluxes, the operating curve is smooth and independent from the orientation. To contribute to the analysis of these results, experiments were conducted at the scale of a single branch of a PHP. An oscillating motion was imposed to a single liquid plug surrounded by two vapour slugs in a capillary tube and high speed visualizations were performed. The test section was either adiabatic or heated. The adiabatic experiments brought to the fore the importance of dynamic contact angles in the flow and the dissymmetry between the advancing and receding contact angle. The non-adiabatic experiments showed that at low flux, the flow is disturbed by bubble nucleation, while at high heat flux, the main heat transfer mechanism is thin film evaporation, with a completely different thermal and hydrodynamic behaviour.     

Influence of filling ratio and working fluid thermal properties on starting up and heat transferring performance of closed loop plate oscillating heat pipe with parallel channels

Using ethanol or acetone as the working fluid, the performance of starting up and heat transfer of closed-loop plate oscillating heat pipe with parallel channels(POHP-PC) were experimentally investigated by varying filling ratio, inclination, working fluids and heating power. The performance of the tested pulsating heat pipe was mainly evaluated by thermal resistance and wall temperature. Heating copper block and cold water bath were adopted in the experimental investigations. It was found that oscillating heat pipe with filling ratio of 50% started up earlier than that with 70% when heating input was 159.4 W, however, it has similar starting up performance with filling ratio of 50% as compared to 70% on the condition of heat input of 205.4 W. And heat pipe with filling ratio of 10% could not start up but directly transit to dry burning. A reasonable filling ratio range of 35%-70% was needed in order to achieve better performance, and there are different optimal filling ratios with different heating inputs- the more heating input, the higher optimal filling ratio, and vice versa. However, the dry burning appeared easily with low filling ratio, especially at very low filling ratio, such as 10%. And higher filling ratio, such as 70%, resulted in higher heat transfer( dry burning) limit. With filling ratio of 70% and inclination of 75°, oscillating heat pipe with acetone started up with heating input of just 24 W, but for ethanol, it needed to be achieved 68 W, Furthermore, the start time with acetone was similar as compared to that with ethanol. For steady operating state, the heating input with acetone was about 80 W, but it transited to dry burning state when heating input was greater than 160 W. However, for ethanol, the heating input was in vicinity of 160 W. Furthermore, thermal resistance with acetone was lower than that with ethanol at the same heating input of 120 W.