Thermal analysis of grooved heat pipe with eco-friendly refrigerant for low heat loads in comparison to an ordinary thermosyphon

Abstract

Thermosyphon heat pipe is an effective heat transfer device which works passively to transfer heat from a source to sink. The objective of the work is to evaluate the performance improvement at lower heat loads when internal grooves is done on a thermosyphon and to compare it to a normal thermosyphon at lower loads of heat inputs. For experimentation, both thermosyphons are filled with R600a and heat input is varied from 10 W to 50 W when the device is inclined at 45°. Thermosyphon performance is determined from thermal resistance and efficiency. The mean value of resistance of the grooved thermosyphon was found to be 0.19 0C/W, which was lower as compared to 0.26 0C/W observed in the normal design. The mean value of efficiency of the grooved design was found to be 81% which outperformed the ordinary thermosiphon by 7%. Comparison of results indicate substantial improvement in heat carrying capacity of grooved thermosyphon even at lower heat loads. Hence this configuration can be preferred over the ordinary design for heat transfer applications involving lower heat loads.