A study on the improvement of heat transfer performance in low temperature closed Thermosyphon

Abstract

The study focuses on the heat transfer performance of two-phase closed thermosyphons with plain copper tube and tubes having 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 internal grooves. Three different working fluids (distilled water, methanol, ethanol) are used with various volumetric liquid fill charge ratio from 10 to 40%. Additional experimental parameters such as operating temperature and inclination angle of zero to 90 degrees are used for the comparison of heat transfer performance of the thermosyphon. Condensation and boiling heat transfer coefficients, heat flux are obtained using experimental data for each case of specific parameter. The experimental results are assessed and compared with existing correlations. The results show that working fluids, liquid fill charge ratio, number of grooves and inclination angle are very important factors for the operation of thermosyphons. The relatively high rate of heat transfer is achieved when the thermosyphon with internal grooves is used compared to that with plain tube. The optimum liquid fill charge ratio for the best heat transfer performance lies between 25% and 30%. The range of the optimum inclination angle for this study is 20°-30° from the horizontal position.