Flow patterns and heat-transfer characteristics of a top heat mode closed-loop oscillating heat pipe with check valves (THMCLOHP/CV)

The aim of this research was to investigate the flow patterns and heat transfer of a top heat mode closed-loop oscillating heat pipe with check valves (THMCLOHP/CV). In this study, the heat pipe was made of a high-quality glass capillary tube with an inner diameter of 2.4 mm bent into 10 meandering turns. The number of check valves was 2 and the tube was filled with R141b at a filling ratio of 50% of internal volume of the tube. The combined lengths of the evaporator, adiabatic and condenser sections were equal to 50 mm. The pipe was operated at the top heat mode, and the angles of inclination were 20°, 40°, 60°, 80°, and 90°. The heat applied at the evaporator section was controlled at 85°Cto 105°C, and 125°C. The results show that in the evaporator section, bubbles are produced and grow as a result of the continuous nucleate boiling. They coalesced and their volume expanded. Similarly, in the condenser section the vapor plug condensate caused the bubbles to collapse and accumulate as a liquid mass at the lower section of the U-bend tube. A new slug then developed and the bubbles coalesced in an upward flow. Heat flux increased when the evaporator temperature and inclination angle increased causing the average length of the vapor plug to decrease and the average velocity of vapor plug to increase. The maximum heat flux occurred at an evaporator temperature of 125°C and an inclination angle of minus 90°.     

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.     

Turbulent convective heat transfer in an inclined tube filled with sodium

Turbulent free convection of liquid sodium in a straight thermally insulated tube with a length equal to 20 diameters and with end heat exchangers ensuring a fixed temperature drop is investigated experimentally. The experiments are performed for a fixed Rayleigh number Ra = 2.4 × 10⁶ and various angles of inclination of the tube relative to the vertical. A strong dependence of the power transferred along the tube on the angle of inclination is revealed: the Nusselt number in the angular range under investigation changes by an order of magnitude with a maximum at the angle of 65° with the vertical. The characteristics of large-scale circulation and turbulent temperature pulsations show that convective heat transfer is mainly determined by the velocity of large-scale circulation of sodium. Turbulent pulsations are maximal for small angles of inclination (α = 20°–30°) and reduce the heat flux along the channel, although in the limit of small angles (vertical tube), there is no large-scale circulation, and the convective heat flux, which is an order of magnitude larger than the molecular heat flux, is ensured only by small scale (turbulent) flow.     

Performance Analysis of a New Water-based Microcooling System

In the electronic industry, dissipating the heat load becomes a critical factor for highly developed designs. These require higher power transfer in a more compact size. In the current study, a new microcooling system was developed and tested. It utilizes the enhancement in heat transfer characteristics associated with implementing a vortex promoter in the evaporator segment of a water-based heat pipe. The test evaporator was a cavity of 4-mm diameter and 23-mm length in an electrically heated aluminum block. A helical coil (of various diameters, namely 500, 300, and 250 μm) was introduced to the evaporator segment to act as a vortex promoter. Configurations of a new microcooling system based on a modified heat pipe technology were built and tested. The presented system proves to work efficiently in situations where a closed-loop thermosyphon encounters film boiling limitation. The most efficient configuration has a flow modifier diameter about one-tenth of the evaporator chamber gap, while the diameter of the return line was three-quarters of the evaporator gap. This configuration shows a stable operation characteristic and possesses high thermal efficiency. The maximum heat flux obtained by such a configuration was 305 W/cm² when it runs at 103°C saturated temperature and 0.01°C/W thermal resistance. A uniform temperature distribution along the system was noticed.     

EFFECTS OF BOND NUMBERS ON INTERNAL FLOW PATTERNS OF AN INCLINED,CLOSED, TWO-PHASE THERMOSYPHON AT NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS

A visual study of internal flow patterns inside an inclined, closed, two-phase thermosyphon at normal operating conditions for several Bond numbers has been conducted. This article describes the effects of varying inclination angles and Bond numbers (Bo) onflow patterns, A copper thermosyphon was used. R123 was selected as the working fluid, with a vapor temperature of 30°C and a filling ratio of 50%. Flow phenomena were observed at selected inclination angles of 90° and 30° from the horizontal axis, with aspect ratios of 30 and 5. The selected external diameters were 12.0 and 28.5 mm. Flow phenomena were also recorded with a standard video camera and a still camera, and the corresponding heat transfer rates were also monitored. It was observed that the basic internal flow patterns could be classified according to the aspect ratios and the Bo as follows: At an aspect ratio of 10 and higher, the annular flow at vertical changes to slug flow in inclined positions for all values of Bo. A thin liquid film always exists in the upper part, promoting heat transfer. In this case, the ratio of heat transfer rates at peak position and those of the vertical (Q / Q90) are almost the same for all Bo. At an aspect ratio of less than 10 and a low Bo, bubbly flow at vertical changes to stratified flow at an inclined position, with bubbly flow in the lower part. Vapor slug is sometimes seen. At an aspect ratio of less than 10 and a high Bo, bubbly flow with a coagulation of bubbles at the vertical position changes to stratified flow with bubbly flow in the upper part, without any vapor slugs. Q / Q90 is comparatively higher than at lower Bo. This result may be attributed to two main factors: (1) there was an area undisturbed by bubbles in the lower part; and (2) no upward vapor slug movement was observed.     

Heat transfer limitation in a vertical annular closed two-phase thermosyphon with small fill rates

A thermosyphon with R113 as the working fluid employing fill ratios between 0.02 and 0.4, i.e. 2 and 40% of the evaporator volume, was experimentally and theoretically investigated. A critical heat flux (for which dry-out occurs) was measured which increases from about 10⁴W m⁻² at 5% fill ratio to about 5 × 10⁴W m⁻² at 40% fill ratio. The theoretical predictions are in close agreement with the experimental results.     

常压下液氮窄缝池沸腾实验研究

采用玻璃钢 (FRP)制成的矩形窄缝 ,对三种不同的间隙尺寸 ,分加热面与水平面呈 0°,4 5°,90°,135°,180°五种角度 ,以液氮为工质进行了 15组池沸腾实验。得出结论 :液氮在窄缝中的沸腾传热有明显的强化换热效果 ;加热面所处角度不同 ,在相同热负荷下壁面过热度亦不同 ,滑移汽泡和微液膜蒸发机理在通道中发挥的作用也相应不同。该研究对于有限空间传热强化的机理和实际应用都有一定的参考价值和指导意义。     

Thermal Performance Enhancement of Thermosyphon Heat Pipe with Binary Working Fluids

Thermal performance of a thermosyphon heat pipe using ethanol-water and TEG-water with variations of parameters such as the mixture content, the pipe diameter, and the working temperature have been studied in this research work. From the experiments, it is found that at low temperature of heat source (less than 80^oC), the ethanol-water mixture has a higher heat transfer rate than that of water and close to that of pure ethanol. In the case of TEG-water mixture, the heat transfer rate of the thermosyphon varies with the content of TEG in the mixture, and it is found that TEG in the mixture can increase the critical heat flux due to the flooding limit in a small thermosyphon. The boiling equation of Rohsenow and the condensation equation of Nusselt are modified to predict the heat transfer coefficients inside the thermosyphon. For the mixtures, the weighted average of the heat transfer coefficient of each component can be used to predict the total heat transfer coefficient. Furthermore, it is found that Faghri's equation can be used to predict the critical heat flux due to the flooding limit of the thermosyphon with the binary mixtures.     

Experimental analysis of conical baffles with rifts on heat transfer and pressure drop

In the present study, convective heat transfer to the air from a heating tube attached to conical baffles with rift was experimentally examined. The air entering the test section first contacts the large surface of the conical baffle. Therefore, the conical baffle both directs the air toward the heating surface and increases the heat transfer surface area. In the experiments, baffles with inclination angles of 45°, 60°, and 80° were used. The baffles were placed on the heating tube at the pitch of 15 mm. The temperature of the heating fluid (water) was kept fixed at 65°C. In addition to the riftless baffles, the experiments were carried out by using baffles with a rift spacing of 1.5 and 3.5 mm so that the boundary layer separation mechanism could be accelerated. Experimental results for eight different velocities of airflow (2–20 m/s) were presented. For the inclination angle of 60°, the increase in the heat transfer of the baffle with rift was 13% at a rift spacing of 1.5 mm and 4% at a rift spacing of 3.5 mm according to the riftless baffle. In addition, for the inclination angle of 60°, the pressure drop values of the riftless and the rift spacing of 1.5 and 3.5 mm were almost the same.     

Heat Transfer Characteristics for Condensation of R134a in a Vertical Smooth Tube

In this study, condensation of pure refrigerant R134a vapor inside a smooth vertical tube was experimentally investigated. The test section was made of a copper tube with inside diameter of 7.52 mm and length of 1 m. Experimental tests were conducted for mass fluxes in the range of 20–175 kg/m²s with saturation pressure ranging between 5.8 and 7 bar. The effects of mass flux, saturation pressure, and temperature difference between the refrigerant and tube inner wall (ΔT) on the heat transfer performance were analyzed through experimental data. Obtained results showed that average condensation heat transfer coefficient decreases with increasing saturation pressure or temperature difference (ΔT). In addition, for the same temperature difference (ΔT), heat can be removed from the refrigerant at a higher rate at relatively low pressure values. Under the same operating conditions, it was shown that average condensation heat transfer coefficient increases as mass flux increases. Finally, the most widely used heat transfer coefficient correlations for condensation inside smooth tubes were analyzed through the experimental data. The best fit was obtained with Akers et al.'s (1959) correlation with an absolute mean deviation of 22.6%.     

Evaporative Heat Transfer Characteristics of R404a and R134a under Varied Heat Flux Conditions

The two-phase heat transfer coefficients of R404A and R134a in a smooth tube of 7.49-mm inner diameter were experimentally investigated at low heat and mass flux conditions. The test section is a 10-m-long counter-flow horizontal double-tube heat exchanger with refrigerant flow inside the tube and hot fluid in the annulus. The heat transfer coefficients along the length of the test section were measured experimentally under varied heat flux conditions between 4 and 18 kW m^?2 and mass flux ranging between 57 and 102 kg m^?2 s^?1 (2.5 to 4.5 g s^?1) for saturation temperatures of ?10°C, ?5°C, and 0°C. The saturation temperatures correspond to pressures of 4.4, 5.2, and 6.1 bar for R404A and 2.0, 2.4, and 3.0 bar for R134a, respectively. The results showed that under the tested conditions, the contribution of the nucleate boiling mechanism is predominant in the heat transfer coefficient throughout the flow boiling process. The Kattan–Thome–Favrat flow pattern maps confirm the occurrence of stratified and stratified-wavy flow patterns for all of the tested conditions. The average heat transfer coefficient of R404A is estimated to be 26 to 30% higher than that of R134a for the same saturation temperature.     

高温吸热管内超临界CO2传热特性的数值模拟

研究超临界CO2在高温吸热管内的传热特性是将其应用于聚光太阳能热发电技术中的基础.本文对此进行了数值模拟研究,分析了流体温度、流动方向、系统压力、质量流率和热流密度对对流传热系数和Nu数的影响.结果表明:高温区(800—1050 K)的对流传热系数和Nu数受流动方向和系统压力的影响均很小,但都随着质量流率的增大以及热流密度的减小而明显增大;而随着流体温度的升高,对流传热系数近似线性增大,Nu数则近似线性减小.另外,本文研究发现在高温区可忽略浮升力对传热的影响,而由高热流密度引起的流动加速效应会明显恶化传热.最后,选取了八种管内超临界流体传热关联式与模拟结果进行对比,发现使用基于热物性修正的关联式对高温区传热数据预测的结果优于使用基于无量纲数修正的关联式得到的结果,且其中预测效果最优的关联式得到的计算结果与模拟结果之间的平均绝对相对偏差为8.1%.     

Influence of nucleation on the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of a refrigerant mixture under varied heat flux conditions

The influence of nucleation on the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of R-134a/R-290/R-600a refrigerant mixture is experimentally studied in a smooth horizontal tube of 12.7 mm diameter. The heat transfer coefficients are experimentally measured for stratified flow patterns under a varied heat flux condition; a condition found in the evaporator of refrigerators and deep freezers. The experiments are conducted in a counter-current heat exchanger test section. By regulating the flow rate and inlet temperature of acetone, which is the heating fluid flowing in the outer tube, a varied heat flux is provided to the refrigerant flowing in the inner tube. The refrigerant mass flow rate is fixed between 3 and 5 g s⁻¹ and its inlet temperature between −8.59 and 5.33°C, which corresponds to a pressure of 3.2 to 5 bar. The significance of nucleate boiling prevailing in the above-mentioned evaporators is highlighted. The experimental heat transfer coefficients are also compared with well known heat transfer correlations.     

蒸气在倾斜细小直径圆管内的流动凝结换热特性

细小管内的流动凝结换热具有许多超常换热特性,经典的Ｎｕｓｓｅｌｔ分析方法已不能满足需要。在以往研究的基础上,本文进一步通过实验探析换热温差和蒸气流量对不同直径的细小管内流动凝结换热的影响。研究表明,管径越小,换热温差对凝结换热系数的影响程度越低;通过流量和倾角对凝结换热数的影响,分析了重力引发的流动分层和剪切力对凝结液的排除两种因素对细管传热强化的作用机制。本文的实验结果和用于常规尺度下的通用关联式对比表明,采用细管,管内的流动凝结换热得到无可置疑的强化     

Effect of Coolant Temperature on the Condensation Heat Transfer in Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Applications

This article directly investigates the effect of a cooling medium's coolant temperature on the condensation of the refrigerant R-134a. The study presents an experimental investigation into condensation heat transfer, vapor quality, and pressure drop of R-134a flowing through a commercial annular helicoidal pipe under the severe climatic conditions of a Kuwait summer. The quality of the refrigerant is calculated using the temperature and pressure obtained from the experiment. Measurements were performed for refrigerant mass fluxes ranging from 50 to 650 kg/m²s, with a cooling water flow Reynolds number range of 950 to 15,000 at a fixed gas saturation temperature of 42°C and cooling wall temperatures of 5°C, 10°C, and 20°C. The data shows that with an increase of refrigerant mass flux, the overall condensation heat transfer coefficients of R-134a increased, and the pressure drops also increased. However, with the increase of mass flux of cooling water, the refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficients decreased. Using low mass flux in a helicoidal tube improves the heat transfer coefficient. Furthermore, selecting low wall temperature for the cooling medium gives a higher refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficient.     

Prediction of heat transfer of nanofluid on critical heat flux based on fractal geometry

Analytical expressions for nucleate pool boiling heat transfer of nanofluid in the critical heat flux (CHF) region are derived taking into account the effect of nanoparticles moving in liquid based on the fractal geometry theory. The proposed fractal model for the CHF of nanofluid is explicitly related to the average diameter of the nanoparticles, the volumetric nanoparticle concentration, the thermal conductivity of nanoparticles, the fractal dimension of nanoparticles, the fractal dimension of active cavities on the heated surfaces, the temperature, and the properties of the fluid. It is found that the CHF of nanofluid decreases with the increase of the average diameter of nanoparticles. Each parameter of the proposed formulas on CHF has a clear physical meaning. The model predictions are compared with the existing experimental data, and a good agreement between the model predictions and experimental data is found. The validity of the present model is thus verified. The proposed fractal model can reveal the mechanism of heat transfer in nanofluid.     

竖直圆管内超临界压力煤油传热特性实验研究

在压力2.5~4 MPa, 质量流量0.7~1.7 g/s, 热流密度0.06~1 MW/m2的实验条件下, 对煤油在内径1 mm, 长度300 mm竖直上升圆管内的流动与传热特性开展了实验研究, 并分析了传热系数随局部油温的变化及不同实验参数对传热的影响.结果表明, 超临界压力下煤油传热主要由自身物性和流动状态决定.超临界压力煤油传热过程大致可以分为3个区域:正常传热区传热强化区和传热恶化区.传热强化主要是湍流掺混增强和近壁面流体在拟临界温度附近物性剧烈变化的综合作用; 传热恶化则是因为壁温及近壁面流体温度远高于拟临界温度, 在近壁面发生了类似于亚临界状态下的“拟膜态沸腾”.      

Experimental Investigations on Latent Heat Storage Unit using Paraffin Wax as Phase Change Material

Thermal performance of a latent heat storage unit is evaluated experimentally. The latent heat thermal energy storage system analyzed in this work is a shell-and-tube type of heat exchanger using paraffin wax (melting point between 58°C and 60°C) as the phase change material. The temperature distribution in the phase change material is measured with time. The influence of mass flow rate and inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid on heat fraction is examined for both the melting and solidification processes. The mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid (water) is varied in the range of 0.0167 kg/s to 0.0833 kg/s (1 kg/min to 5 kg/min), and the fluid inlet temperature is varied between 75°C and 85°C. The experimental results indicate that the total melting time of the phase change material increases as the mass flow rate and inlet temperature of heat transfer fluid decrease. The fluid inlet temperature influences the heat fraction considerably as compared to the mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid during the melting process of the phase change material.     

A Study on Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of Acetone on Smooth and Indented Surfaces

This article presents the nucleate boiling heat transfer characteristics of acetone at one bar on smooth and enhanced circular stainless steel surfaces (SS 316) of 20 mm diameter for heat flux between 1 and 4 W cm^? 2, which mimic the operating condition of a typical immersion electronic cooling system. The experimental heat transfer coefficient from the smooth surface is validated against Borishanski correlation [1] within acceptable limits of ± 5%. The steel smooth surface is enhanced by providing 100 equally spaced indents of 0.5 mm diameter and 0.05 mm depth. The experimental results indicate that the enhanced surface shows a good shift in the boiling curve and thus, enhancing the nucleate boiling heat transfer at a lesser wall super heat when compared to the smooth surface by around 35% for tested condition. The effect of subcooling on nucleate boiling in enhanced surface reveal that the heat transfer coefficient degrade by 40 to 55% for a sub cooling of 5 to 10 K. The influence of material is studied by a similar enhanced surface made of brass and compared for the same working condition. The brass enhanced surface showed an improved of around 50% against the steel-enhanced surface. Also, the influence of fluid is studied by comparing acetone and n-pentane, which showed that the latter an enhancement in heat transfer coefficient of 50% over the former.     

Numerical simulation of laminar forced convection of water-CuO nanofluid inside a triangular duct

In this article, distilled water and CuO particles with volume fraction of 1%, 2% and 4% are numerically studied. The steady state flow regime is considered laminar with Reynolds number of 100, and nano-particles diameters are assumed 20 nm and 80 nm. The hydraulic diameter and the length of equilateral triangular channel are 8 mm and 1000 mm, respectively. The problem is solved for two different boundary conditions; firstly, constant heat flux for all sides as a validation approach; and secondly, constant heat flux for two sides and constant temperature for one side (hot plate). Convective heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number, pressure loss through the channel, velocity distribution in cross section and temperature distribution on walls are investigated in detail. The fluid flow is supposed to be one-phase flow. It can be observed that nano-fluid leads to a remarkable enhancement on heat transfer coefficient. Furthermore, CuO particles increase pressure loss through the channel and velocity distribution in fully developed cross section of channel, as well. The computations reveal that the size of nano-particles has no significant influence on heat transfer properties. Besides, the study shows a good agreement between provided outcomes and experimental data available in the literature.