Thermal performance of screen mesh wick heat pipes using water-based copper nanofluids

Abstract

Fairly stable surfactant free copper–distilled water nanofluids are prepared using prolonged sonication and homogenization. Thermal conductivity of the prepared nanofluid displays a maximum enhancement of ∼15% for 0.5 wt% of Cu loading in distilled water at 30 °C. The wall temperature distributions and the thermal resistances between the evaporator and the condenser sections of a commercial screen mesh wick heat pipe containing nanofluids are investigated for three different angular position of the heat pipe. The results are compared with those for the same heat pipe with water as the working fluid. The wall temperatures of the heat pipes decrease along the test section from the evaporator section to the condenser section and increase with input power. The average evaporator wall temperatures of the heat pipe with nanofluids are much lower than those of the heat pipe with distilled water. The thermal resistance of the heat pipe using both distilled water and nanofluids is high at low heat loads and reduces rapidly to a minimum value as the applied heat load is increased. The thermal resistance of the vertically mounted heat pipe with 0.5 wt% of Cu–distilled water nanofluid is reduced by ∼27%. The observed enhanced thermal performance is explained in light of the deposited Cu layer on the screen mesh wick in the evaporator section of the heat pipe.