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Numerical study on the heat transfer characteristics of three-dimensional pulsating heat pipe

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An Erratum to this article was published on 05 October 2023

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Abstract

Existing pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) have a closed loop on a two-dimensional (2D) plane, leading to a structural limit in heat transfer performance. This study solves the limitations of these existing PHPs by substituting a specific three-dimensional (3D) structure PHP. The numerical model (having a 2D structure PHP) was validated with the experiment, which shows the maximum error of 8.5 % in the results. Results show that additional flow occurred due to the 3D structure of the PHP, which enables improved heat transfer. Under uniform heating conditions, the thermal resistance and the temperature of the evaporator decreased by up to 14.7 % and 6.7 ·C, respectively. Finally, the heat transfer performance was compared for the entire 3D structure PHP under uniform and non-uniform heating conditions. The non-uniform heating conditions of the PHP increased the thermal resistance and temperature of the evaporator under low heating rates while decreased them under high heating rates.

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Abbreviations

ρ :

Density

ρ v :

Vapor density

\({\rho _l}\) :

Liquid density

\(\overrightarrow {{V_v}}\) :

Vapor velocity

\(\overrightarrow {{V_l}}\) :

Liquid velocity

α v :

Vapor volume fraction

ρ l :

Liquid volume fraction

m vl :

Mass transfer from vapor to liquid

m lv :

Mass transfer from liquid to vapor

β e :

Evaporation time relaxation coefficient

β c :

Condensation time relaxation coefficient

T sat :

Saturation temperature

T v :

Vapor phase temperature

T l :

Liquid phase temperature

μ :

Viscosity

μ v :

Vapor viscosity

μ l :

Liquid viscosity

E :

Internal energy

\({\vec F}\) :

Body force

\({\vec g}\) :

Gravitational acceleration

k eff :

Effective thermal conductivity

S h :

Energy source term

ρ :

Pressure

R :

Gas constant

R th :

Thermal resistance

T e :

Evaporator temperature

T c :

Condenser temperature

Q input :

Heat flow rate

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korean government (MSIT) [NRF-2021R1I1A3047845, NRF-2022R1A4A3023960].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, 49112, Korea

    Jongmin Jung

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, 49112, Korea

    Yongseok Jeon

Authors
  1. Jongmin Jung
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  2. Yongseok Jeon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yongseok Jeon.

Additional information

Jongmin Jung is a M.S. student of Department of Refrigeration Engineering at Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, Korea. He received his B.S degree in refrigeration engineering from Chonnam National University in Korea in 2021.

Yongseok Jeon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, Korea. He received B.S. and the Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Korea University, Seoul, Korea. His research interests include thermal engineering, heat transfer, and energy system.

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Jung, J., Jeon, Y. Numerical study on the heat transfer characteristics of three-dimensional pulsating heat pipe. J Mech Sci Technol 37, 4869–4876 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0839-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0839-1

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