Application of distributed parameter model in thermal management of microchannel loop heat pipe

Abstract

Microchannel loop heat pipe (MCLHP) possesses the superiority of compact structure and energy saving, which are preferred in the thermal management of data centers and charging piles. In this study, the three-dimensional distributed parameter model combined with an experimental system was presented to investigate the effect of filling ratio, height difference, heat exchanger structure and operating parameters on the thermal transfer performance of the MCLHP system. Specially, pump auxiliary MCLHP was proposed to improve the heat transfer capacity. Simulations combined the distributed parameter model with the response surface methodology showed that the largest heat transfer capacity was 1.402 kW with a filling ratio of 79.7%. Although changing the structural parameters would improve the heat transfer capacity, it would compensate with increased space structure and air resistance. The proposed pump auxiliary MCLHP system could operate stably with the heat transfer capacity of up to 4 kW, which presented a potential application in high heat flux cooling such as charging piles and data centers.