Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM

Heat pipes are devices capable of very high heat transfer and have been widely used in many thermal management applications. Nevertheless, both the understanding and design of heat pipe operations could benefit from further developments of numerical simulations. In this study, two-dimensional heat t...

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Main Authors: Thuchayapong N., Nakano A., Sakulchangsatjatai P., Terdtoon P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2014
Online Access:http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-80053598332&partnerID=40&md5=c3beb547f9a1d0fba2eff0b117d716b8
http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/handle/6653943832/1460
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Institution: Chiang Mai University
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spelling th-cmuir.6653943832-14602014-08-29T09:29:20Z Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM Thuchayapong N. Nakano A. Sakulchangsatjatai P. Terdtoon P. Heat pipes are devices capable of very high heat transfer and have been widely used in many thermal management applications. Nevertheless, both the understanding and design of heat pipe operations could benefit from further developments of numerical simulations. In this study, two-dimensional heat transfer and fluid flow in a heat pipe at steady state was numerically simulated using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The calculated domains consisted of a vapor core, wick, wall of container, and water jacket. The capillary pressure model was used for the liquid-vapor interface in the wick. The capillary radius variation was assumed to be a simple linear function and applied in the capillary model. This assumption was used for investigating the effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe. It also affected on the wall temperature distributions at the end of evaporator section. To confirm the validity of the simulations, the vapor and wall temperature distribution results were compared with experimental data of heat pipes with the copper-mesh wick obtained by Huang et al. Our numerical results indicate that the capillary pressure gradient inside the wick at the end of the evaporator section was very large. This may have been a result of fast liquid motion at the end of the evaporator section, thus, providing efficient heat transfer through convection. In conclusion, experimentally-validated heat pipe temperature distributions were successfully simulated in two dimensions, which may help improve the accuracy and efficiency of heat pipe design. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 2014-08-29T09:29:20Z 2014-08-29T09:29:20Z 2012 Article 13594311 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2011.08.034 ATENF http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-80053598332&partnerID=40&md5=c3beb547f9a1d0fba2eff0b117d716b8 http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/handle/6653943832/1460 English
institution Chiang Mai University
building Chiang Mai University Library
country Thailand
collection CMU Intellectual Repository
language English
description Heat pipes are devices capable of very high heat transfer and have been widely used in many thermal management applications. Nevertheless, both the understanding and design of heat pipe operations could benefit from further developments of numerical simulations. In this study, two-dimensional heat transfer and fluid flow in a heat pipe at steady state was numerically simulated using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The calculated domains consisted of a vapor core, wick, wall of container, and water jacket. The capillary pressure model was used for the liquid-vapor interface in the wick. The capillary radius variation was assumed to be a simple linear function and applied in the capillary model. This assumption was used for investigating the effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe. It also affected on the wall temperature distributions at the end of evaporator section. To confirm the validity of the simulations, the vapor and wall temperature distribution results were compared with experimental data of heat pipes with the copper-mesh wick obtained by Huang et al. Our numerical results indicate that the capillary pressure gradient inside the wick at the end of the evaporator section was very large. This may have been a result of fast liquid motion at the end of the evaporator section, thus, providing efficient heat transfer through convection. In conclusion, experimentally-validated heat pipe temperature distributions were successfully simulated in two dimensions, which may help improve the accuracy and efficiency of heat pipe design. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
format Article
author Thuchayapong N.
Nakano A.
Sakulchangsatjatai P.
Terdtoon P.
spellingShingle Thuchayapong N.
Nakano A.
Sakulchangsatjatai P.
Terdtoon P.
Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM
author_facet Thuchayapong N.
Nakano A.
Sakulchangsatjatai P.
Terdtoon P.
author_sort Thuchayapong N.
title Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM
title_short Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM
title_full Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM
title_fullStr Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM
title_full_unstemmed Effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: Numerical approach with FEM
title_sort effect of capillary pressure on performance of a heat pipe: numerical approach with fem
publishDate 2014
url http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-80053598332&partnerID=40&md5=c3beb547f9a1d0fba2eff0b117d716b8
http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/handle/6653943832/1460
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