Experimental Study on the Effect of Water as a Working Fluid in Aluminium Heat Pipes

Abstract

Thermal management of machines and electronic devices is a matter of high importance. Cooling of electronics becomes much more sensitive in applications related to space because of the difficult constraints and environment. The weight and size are very important parameters as well as the efficiency of the cooling method and heat pipes are considered a very suitable option because of its passive operation and light weight. Different working fluids can be used in a heat pipe but the compatibility of the casing material with the working fluid is a very important parameter. Water aluminum heat pipes are not a common option because they react at temperatures starting from 294 K. In this research the effect of water in the degradation of the performance of aluminum heat pipes is studied. A suitable operation range for the heat load is considered. It is found that at higher loads, the performance of the heat pipe decreased but with the addition of nano particles the performance was compensated by a large measure