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Comparative study on heat pipe performance using aqueous solutions of alcohols

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Abstract

This paper deals with the performance characterization of heat pipes using an aqueous solution of long chain alcohols like n-Butanol, n-Pentanol, n-Hexanol and n-Heptanol as working mediums. These solutions are called as self-rewetting fluids, since these fluid mixtures possess a non-linear dependence of the surface tension with temperature. A cylindrical heat pipe made up of copper with two layers of wrapped screen is used as a wick material and partially filled with the self-rewetting fluid water mixture and tested for its heat transport capability like thermal efficiency and thermal resistance at different inclinations and input power levels. A number of tests have been performed with heat pipes, filled with various aqueous solutions of alcohols with a concentration of 2 ml/l in de-ionized water (DI water) on volume basis. The results obtained for heat pipes using self rewetting fluids show improved performances, when compared to DI water heat pipes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the authorities of Annamalai University for providing the necessary facilities in order to accomplish this piece of work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu, 608 002, India

    R. Senthilkumar, S. Vaidyanathan & B. Sivaraman

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  1. R. Senthilkumar
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  2. S. Vaidyanathan
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  3. B. Sivaraman
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Correspondence to R. Senthilkumar.

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Senthilkumar, R., Vaidyanathan, S. & Sivaraman, B. Comparative study on heat pipe performance using aqueous solutions of alcohols. Heat Mass Transfer 48, 2033–2040 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-012-1046-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-012-1046-2

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