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Understanding thermo-fluidic characteristics of a glass tube closed loop pulsating heat pipe: flow patterns and fluid oscillations

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Abstract

An experimental program has been carried out to understand the thermo-fluidic characterization of deionized (DI) water charged closed loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) with flow patterns and fluid oscillations. The CLPHP is examined under vertical and horizontal heating modes with varying heat power. The flow patterns along with fluid oscillations are correlated with thermal performance of the CLPHP. Further, the CLPHP with copper oxide nanofluid study is carried out to understand operational behavior of the device. Fast Fourier frequencies, average frequency of the internal fluid temperature are investigated. Several important features of CLPHP operation are identified by the visual study.

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Abbreviations

A:

Area (m2)

CuO:

Copper oxide (-)

Cp :

Specific heat (J/kgK)

d:

Diameter (m)

f:

Bubble frequency (Hz)

h:

Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

k:

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

L:

Length (m)

N:

Nucleation site density (m−2)

n:

Number of parallel tubes (-)

Q:

Heat power (W)

q:

Heat flux (W/m2)

R:

Thermal resistance (K/W)

r:

Radius of tube (m)

T:

Temperature (°C)

\(\bar{T}\) :

Average temperature (°C)

a:

Active

b:

Bubble

c:

Condenser

cr:

Cross section

e:

Evaporator

i:

Inner

eff:

Effective

nf:

Nanofluid

o:

Outer

tot:

Total

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Material Science and Thermal Management, Karunya University, Coimbatore, 641114, India

    V. K. Karthikeyan, B. C. Pillai & A. Brusly Solomon

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore, 641022, India

    V. K. Karthikeyan

  3. Department of Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, 641046, India

    K. Ramachandran

Authors
  1. V. K. Karthikeyan
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  2. K. Ramachandran
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  3. B. C. Pillai
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  4. A. Brusly Solomon
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Correspondence to V. K. Karthikeyan.

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Karthikeyan, V.K., Ramachandran, K., Pillai, B.C. et al. Understanding thermo-fluidic characteristics of a glass tube closed loop pulsating heat pipe: flow patterns and fluid oscillations. Heat Mass Transfer 51, 1669–1680 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1525-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1525-3

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