Abstract
Rotating wickless and stationary capillary cylindrical heat pipes are widely used heat transfer devices. Transient behavior of such heat pipes has been investigated numerically with computational fluid dynamics and lumped parameter models. In this paper, the advantages of both methods are combined into a novel engineering model that is low in computational cost but still accurate and rich in the details it provides. The model describes the interior dynamics of the heat pipe with a 2D representation of a cylindrical heat pipe. Liquid and vapor volumes are coarsely meshed in the axial direction. The cells are allowed to change in size in the radial direction during simulation. This allows for tracking the liquid/vapor interface without having to implement fine meshing. The model includes the equations for mass, momentum and energy and is applicable to both rotating and stationary heat pipes. The predictions of the model are validated with other experimental, numerical, and analytical works having an average deviation of less than 4%. The effects of various parameters on the system are explored. The presented model is suitable for the simulation of heat pipe systems in which both the level of detail and the computational cost are crucial factors.
Highlights
Heat pipes are efficient heat transfer devices that make use of a working fluid acting as an energy carrier
The dynamic behavior of a flat plate heat pipe has been described by Xuan et al [18], who solved the transient conduction equation for the wall and the wick region, whereas a lumped model is used for the vapor phase
The model presented in the previous section is validated for Stationary capillary heat pipes (SCHP) and rotating heat pipes (RHP)
Summary
Heat pipes are efficient heat transfer devices that make use of a working fluid acting as an energy carrier. The dynamic behavior of a flat plate heat pipe has been described by Xuan et al [18], who solved the transient conduction equation for the wall and the wick region, whereas a lumped model is used for the vapor phase Another lumped parameter approach has been adapted by Ferrandi et al [19], which accounts for liquid and vapor flow and storage. Wits et al [20] used a control volume element approach to model the transient behavior of a flat miniature heat pipe In this control volume method, the liquid and the vapor at the evaporator and the condenser are separately lumped into two control volumes and the governing equations are solved. This is especially advantageous for design calculations and for the dynamic modelling of large systems involving one or multiple heat pipes
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