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Experimental investigation of flat plate closed loop pulsating heat pipe

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Abstract

Pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) have promised to be effective heat spreaders. From the fabrication perspective, the PHPs are less intensive than their conventional counterparts. Despite the advantages, there still exists shortage of data in both experimental and analytical domains towards reliable design and prediction of PHP performance. In this study, a flat plate closed loop PHP has been experimentally investigated for its thermal performance. The PHP with 12 channels, each 2.2 mm deep × 2.0 mm wide, was tested with deionized water for a fill ratio of 70% by volume for various orientations starting from vertical evaporator below condenser (90°) to near horizontal (7.5°) orientation for a single heat load of 50 W to calibrate the test setup against published literature. The PHP was also tested for methanol with various fill ratios (30, 40, 50, 60 and 70%) for 50 W. The best performing fill ratio of methanol was tested for various heat loads (10 to 100 W) for the vertical and the near horizontal orientation. An attempt has been made to resolve the critical angle after which the PHP ceases to perform when tilted towards horizontal orientation. The PHP performance as expected was best at the 90° (vertical) orientation with very little deterioration up to 45°. The thermal resistances were estimated for two fluids, for various orientations, heat loads and fill ratios. The results indicate that at near horizontal orientation methanol performed better than water for 70% fill ratio. The 40% fill ratio of methanol yielded the least thermal resistance for all orientations. Also the thermal resistance of the PHP decreased with increasing heat load for different orientations. The PHP operated successfully up to 7.5–10° below which the PHP was observed to have dry out.

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Abbreviations

Acs :

Heat transfer cross-sectional area in solid m2

Ac :

Cross-sectional area of channel mm2

Bo:

Bond number

D:

Diameter of the channel mm

Dh :

Hydraulic diameter of channel mm

(dP/dT)sat :

Change in pressure for a given change in temperature at saturated condition Pa/K

g:

Acceleration due to gravity m/s2

I:

Current supplied to heater A

k:

Thermal conductivity of solid W/m-°C

L:

Distance between evaporator and condenser mm

P:

Pressure of fluid Pa

Pw :

Perimeter of channel mm

\( \overset{.}{Q} \) :

Heat supplied to heater W

R:

Centreline radius of the bend of the channel mm

RAl/PC :

Thermal resistance due to conduction in solid °C/W

Rempty :

Thermal resistance of PHP without fluid °C/W

Rth :

Thermal resistance of PHP °C/W

RPHP :

Thermal resistance due to PHP effect °C/W

∆T:

Temperature drop: evaporator – condenser °C

T:

Temperature of fluid °C

Tc :

Temperature at condenser °C

Te :

Temperature at evaporator °C

V:

Voltage supplied to heater V

ρl :

Density of liquid kg/m3

ρv :

Density of vapour kg/m3

σ:

Surface tension of liquid N/m

β:

Inclination angle degrees

θ:

Contact angle (solid-fluid) degrees

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Acknowledgements

The authors (P Srikrishna and N Siddharth) thank the Director, MTRDC, for providing the opportunity and encouragement in carrying out the tasks presented in the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MTRDC, DRDO, Bangalore, India

    P. Srikrishna, N. Siddharth & S. U. M. Reddy

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

    G. S. V. L. Narasimham

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  1. P. Srikrishna
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  2. N. Siddharth
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  3. S. U. M. Reddy
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  4. G. S. V. L. Narasimham
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Correspondence to P. Srikrishna.

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Srikrishna, P., Siddharth, N., Reddy, S.U.M. et al. Experimental investigation of flat plate closed loop pulsating heat pipe. Heat Mass Transfer 55, 2637–2649 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-019-02607-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-019-02607-z

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