EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE HEAT TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS OF A TWO-PHASE DOUBLE-LOOP THERMOSYPHON

An experimental study is presented for the heat transfer characteristics of a rectangular, two-phase, double-loop thermosyphon with water-steam as the working fluid. The evaporator was installed in the middle branch and shared by the two condensers. Local temperature measurements of the core fluid and the wall were made, and the overall heat transfer coefficients of the evaporator, the condensers, and the loop system were obtained and correlated in terms of the fluid properties, heat flux conditions, and the liquid charge level V⁺. Results show that the overall heat transfer coefficients increase with decreasing V⁺ and increasing heat flux. The heat transfer performance of the entire system can be viewed as a parallel combination of the thermal resistances of the evaporator and two condensers. Results also confirm the previous findings that if the liquid charge level is below the fractional volume of the bottom connecting tubes, an overheat phenomenon will take place.