Numerical Analysis on the Evaporative Heat Transfer of CO2 at Different Inlet Reynolds Numbers

Abstract

With the rapid development of electronic devices for more compact structure and rapidity speed, the traditional single-phase radiator cannot meet the demand of an increasing heat flux from the electronic components. The effects of inlet Reynolds number on the evaporative heat transfer of CO2 in a loop heat pipe evaporator are numerically investigated in this paper. The objective is to seek an achievable approach to enhance the heat-dissipating efficiency and provide a low operating temperature for the electronic components. The temperature of the bottom oscillates continuously during the evaporation process and is influenced by the vapor; the pattern of two-phase flow is quite different from single-phase flow. It is also found that the heat transfer coefficient of CO2 increases with the inlet Reynolds number largely.