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Visualization research and simulation analysis on flat plate heat pipe

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Abstract

The flat plate heat pipe (FPHP) had attracted the attention of researchers due to their superior performance. In this study, we used acetone as the working fluid to observe the flow pattern and bubble movement phenomenon at different heat flux and three filling ratios of the FPHP. The experimental analysis showed that, compared with the conventional large-scale heat pipe, the elastic flow and columnar flow were easily formed in the micro heat pipe, which hindered the return of condensate from the condensing section to the evaporation section and caused the evaporation section to dry up. Therefore, the heat transfer limit of the micro heat pipe was mainly caused by the drying limit. Then, a single micro heat pipe heat transfer model was established to study the change of the gas–liquid two-phase fluid inner the FPHP. The results of the model could predict the flow pattern of the working mass in the micro heat pipe, which is different from that of the conventional heat pipe. This is mainly because it is difficult for bubbles to escape from the heating wall, which eventually produces gas column, resulting in the evaporation section drying up. And the results were consistent with the aforementioned research results on visualization of FPHP, which had a significant effect on the design of this type of FPHP.

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Abbreviations

T :

Temperature, K

∆h :

Enthalpy of vaporization

Cp :

Specific heat capacity, J/( Kg·K)

F :

Friction factor

q :

Heating power, W

u :

Speed, m/s

α :

Inclination, °

δ :

Liquid film thickness, mm

σ :

Surface Tension, Pa

β :

Relaxation factor

ρ :

Density, Kg/m3

μ :

Dynamic viscosity, Pa·m

υ :

Operating viscosity, m2/s

λ :

Thermal Conductivity, W/( m2·K)

ϕ :

Filling ratio

τ :

Shear force, Pa

adi :

Adiabatic

c :

Condensation

e :

Evaporation

l :

Liquid phase

v :

Gas phase

W :

Wall surface

VOF:

Volume of fluid

UDF:

User-Defined Function

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the science and technology planning project of Yichang science and technology agency (NO. A20-3-009) and Open Fund Project of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hydroelectric Machinery Design & Maintenance (NO.2019KJX05, 2020KJX08 and 2020KJX09). The authors are grateful for the support of the sponsors.

Funding

The project was supported by the Open Fund of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hydroelectric Machinery Design & Maintenance (2019KJX05, 2020KJX08 and 2020KJX09).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Key Laboratory of Hydroelectric Machinery Design & Maintenance, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, China

    Gang Wang, Tian Wang, Tao Hu, Wan Yu & Yongqing Yang

  2. College of Mechanical & Power Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, China

    Gang Wang, Tian Wang, Tao Hu, Wan Yu & Yongqing Yang

Authors
  1. Gang Wang
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  2. Tian Wang
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  3. Tao Hu
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  4. Wan Yu
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  5. Yongqing Yang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tao Hu.

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The study is finished by the author and the author’s team, and it’s an original research paper. All authors of the manuscript have no conflict of interest including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other people or organizations.

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Wang, G., Wang, T., Hu, T. et al. Visualization research and simulation analysis on flat plate heat pipe. Heat Mass Transfer 58, 1649–1665 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03200-7

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