An Experimental and Analytical Study on Pulsating Heat Pipe

Abstract

With the rapid development of the semiconductor material technology, the operating power of processors has the trend to increase higher. The pulsating heat pipe (PHP) or oscillating heat pipe with the high performance and simple structure is a promising heat transfer device for a lot of applications in further technology.

In the present study, a three-dimensional closed-loop pulsating heat pipe has been simulated and compared with the experiment. The present study concentrates on analyzing and predicting the behavior of motion of fluid flow inside the pulsating heat pipe. A model of pulsating heat pipe with eight-turn was fabricated using Pyrex tubes with the inner diameter of 1.85 mm. The boundary temperatures for the evaporator and condenser were 80ºC and 25ºC. For working fluid, R123 was employed in this study because of its sensibility characteristic on the motion. The charging ratios were 50% and 60%. Flow visualization through the transparent chambers using a high-speed camera was recorded to study the flow motion. The circulation motion was observed in both experiment and simulation.

The simulation results of the motion characteristics showed a good agreement with the experimental data. The simulation results of flow pattern, heat transfer rate, and pressure were also discussed. The results have been analyzed to understand better about the mechanism of PHP and they provided lessons for progressing to further modeling.