Internal Flow Patterns on Heat Transfer Performance of a Closed-Loop Oscillating Heat Pipe with Check Valves

Abstract

This article presents the experimental results of an evaluation of the influence of internal flow patterns on the heat transfer performance of a closed-loop oscillating heat pipe with check valves. It was found that the internal flow patterns could be classified according to four flow patterns: dispersed bubble flow, bubble flow, slug flow, and annular flow, respectively. The main regime of each flow pattern can be determined from a flow pattern map. The map can be used to predict the trend of the heat transfer rate in the closed-loop oscillating heat pipe with check valves.