Thermal performance modeling of loop heat pipes with flat evaporator for electronics cooling

Abstract

This work deals with modeling of the thermal performance of a copper-water loop heat pipe (LHP) with a flat evaporator operating in steady state operation. The model is based on steady-state energy and momentum balance equations for each LHP component. Modeling the heat transfer in the evaporator was particularly considered, and the evaporation heat transfer coefficient is determined from a dimensionless correlation which is developed on the basis of experimental data from literature. The validation of this model consists in comparing the experimental results and those obtained by the model for different cooling temperatures. Finally, a parametric study is presented to show the effects of different key parameters such as the radii and the lengths of the liquid and vapor lines, the length of the condenser, the heat sink temperature and heat transfer coefficient as well as the ambient temperature and the heat losses to the ambient.