Performance of heat pipes as capillary pumps: experiments

Abstract

This paper describes the development of an experimental setup to investigate the performance of heat pipes as capillary pumps. The experimental setup and the research that was performed by LFME was part of an EU funded research project called TRI-GEN EGD that aims in the overall development of a novel Tri-generation Electrogasdynamic converter system. The capillary pump will be used to pump the working fluid of the system using external waste heat. Furthermore, since the capillary pump has no moving parts it will provide the system with greater reliability. The experimental setup designed and constructed by LFME is a Capillary Pumped Loop (CPL). A CPL is a closed loop system that pumps liquid by passive means, based on the operating principles of heat pipes. Specifically capillary forces are generated on a porous structure that exists in the evaporation section and is responsible for pushing the working fluid from a high temperature source to a low temperature sink. In this paper, a brief description of the experimental setup that was constructed and a description of the experimental procedure that was followed will be given together with some results that were obtained for various configurations. Copyright , Manchester University Press.