Study of Fine Particle Deposition of Porous Medium in Heat Pipe of Heat Pipe Reactor Under Gravity

Abstract

Based on the finite element software, inside the heat pipe of the heat pipe reactor a partial area model of the porous medium of the suction core was established, and the particle deposition working conditions in the area were calculated and analyzed. The deposition phenomena of horizontal and vertical placement under the effect of gravity, the variation of deposition amount under three concentrations, and the comparative research about the condition without gravity are performed. The results show that gravity has a significant effect on the deposition of fine particles in porous medium. Meanwhile, as the total deposition volume increases, the deposition position changes obviously, and the particle trajectory is also affected significantly compared with the condition without gravity; when the heat pipe is placed vertically, the particle detaches the area slowly compared with horizontal placement with the deposition volume increasing significantly. The angle between gravity and placement causes a significant change in deposition volume; the deposition volume increased with time and gradually stabilized; the total deposition volume increased with particle concentration, however, the rate of increase decreased with concentration; since the sharp decrease on deposition volume for horizontal placement of heat pipes compared to vertical placement, it assumed that there was an optimal placement that made the deposition volume reaching the minimum value. Namely the optimal placement of the deposition minimum volume.