Minimum Thermal Resistance Research Articles

Single-Loop Triple-Diameter Pulsating Heat Pipes at Reduced Heat Input: A CFD Study on Inner Diameter Optimization

The geometric configuration, particularly the inner tube diameter, plays a significant role in the thermal performance of pulsating heat pipes (PHPs). Previous experimental research has demonstrated that single-loop triple-diameter PHPs (TD-PHPs) outperform single-loop single-diameter PHPs (SD-PHPs) and dual-diameter PHPs (DD-PHPs) in terms of thermal performance under moderate heating input powers ranging from 25 W to 75 W. However, a reduction in heat input from 75 W to 25 W leads to a diminished impact of TD-PHPs on the thermal performance. Therefore, to improve the overall performance of TD-PHPs, this study used two-dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics simulations to identify the optimal inner tube diameters for TD-PHPs at a low heat input by evaluating the thermal resistance of five TD-PHPs with various inner diameters. The findings reveal that the TD-PHP configuration exhibits minimum thermal resistance, with inner diameters of 4.5 mm for the upper arch (the condenser section), 4.0 mm for the wide branch, and 2.5 mm for the narrow branch, primarily due to its full circulation flow pattern. Furthermore, the overall heat transfer performance of the optimal TD-PHP was compared with that of an SD-PHP at low heat inputs (10 and 18 W), indicating that although the optimal TD-PHP shows lower thermal resistance, it does not significantly affect the start-up time.

Simulation-based design: minimizing energy consumption in residential buildings through optimal thermal insulation

Purpose This study aims to optimize the energy consumption of residential buildings in mild and humid climates. It investigates the use of thermal insulation to reduce thermal load through energy simulation analysis. Design/methodology/approach A residential building located in Rasht city, Iran (a mild and humid climate zone), is simulated using DesignBuilder software. Subsequently, the minimum thermal resistance for external walls and roof is analyzed along with its impact on building energy consumption and carbon emissions. Findings The simulation results indicated a 26.5% reduction in heat loss through the walls and a 14.2% reduction through the roof due to optimal thermal insulation. Furthermore, optimal insulation led to a 19.2% reduction in cooling system energy use, a 12% reduction in heating system energy use and a combined 15.3% reduction in total energy consumption for cooling and heating. Originality/value This optimization process leads to several benefits: reduced costs associated with thermal and cooling energy losses in buildings, improved building performance against atmospheric factors and, ultimately, a reduction in energy consumption across the building industry. This research can be valuable to various stakeholders, including the construction industry and building sector, municipalities and engineering systems, building owners and contractors and environmental organizations. By implementing these findings, they can improve the state of modern building insulation and achieve greater energy efficiency.

Experimental characterisation and visualisation of a novel two-phase flexible heat transfer device

The importance of passive Flexible Heat Transfer Device (FHTD) in electronic cooling or space applications lies in their ability to provide efficient, reliable, and adaptable thermal management solutions. Heat transfer enhancement studies pertaining to FHTD developed to meet the thermal management demands of futuristic flexible electronic devices are presented in the current work. The possibility of extending the heat transport limit of FHTD beyond 24 W by limiting the maximum operating temperature to 60 °C is discussed. The superior performance of FHTD at varying heat loads from 5 W to 40 W at 45°and 90°bending angles is brought out compared with existing heat transfer devices like Flexible Heat Pipe (FHP) and copper thermal straps. The performance is reported in thermal resistance and equivalent thermal conductivity. A commercial dielectric liquid is used as a working fluid in FHTD to enhance the heat transfer limit employing phase change. The evaporator and condenser sections of the flexible section are made transparent to visualise the boiling and condensation phenomenon. Under steady-state operation at a 45°bending angle, The FHTD demonstrates a minimum thermal resistance of 0.73 K/W and a peak effective thermal conductivity of 8172 W/m K. The heat transfer coefficient ranges from 200 to 700 W/m2 K, consistent with values reported for heat pipes in the literature. Additionally, the study explores the impact of modifying the external surface texture to create more nucleation sites, thereby enhancing the performance of the FHTD. The results show that the laser-textured surface on the heat pipe condenser effectively reduces the onset of nucleate boiling for dielectric fluid by 3.5 °C and decreases the maximum temperature of the evaporator by 4.5 °C. The present work dictates the fundamental baseline for possible design choices of futuristic passive flexible heat transfer devices.

Experimental investigation into heat transfer and flow characteristics of magnetic hybrid nanofluid ([formula omitted]/Ti[formula omitted]) in turbulent region

Extensive research and empirical evidence demonstrate the superior thermal performance of nanofluids compared to DIW. Magnetic hybrid nanofluids, such as Fe3O4/TiO2, are currently being explored for their enhanced thermal properties. This study evaluates Fe3O4/TiO2 nanofluids for heat transfer and hydraulic resistance across Reynolds numbers from 3200 to 5300 and volume fractions from 0.00625 % to 0.3 % vol. UV–Vis spectroscopy shows that lower volumetric fractions correlate with decreased sedimentation. Over 30 days, nanofluids with 0.3 % vol, 0.2 % vol, and 0.1 % vol exhibited high sedimentation factors (SF) of 31.79 %, 11.88 %, and 11.44 %, respectively, while 0.00625 % vol, 0.0125 % vol, and 0.025 % vol demonstrated better stability with SFs of 8.89 %, 9.82 %, and 10.24 % respectively. Volume fractions significantly impact heat transfer, with CHT coefficients increasing by 11.42 % at 0.3 % vol, 14.03 % at 0.2 % vol, 18.04 % at 0.1 % vol, and 19.98 % at 0.05 % vol. The greatest enhancements are at lower concentrations: 22.91 % at 0.025 % vol, a peak of 26.33 % at 0.0125 % vol, and 24.30 % at 0.00625 % vol. Pressure drops are highest at 21 % for 0.3 % vol at Re 5018, decreasing with lower concentrations: 13.10 % at Re 5144.4 (0.2 % vol), 11.94 % at Re 5041.6 (0.1 % vol), 9.82 % at Re 5112.2 (0.05 % vol), 7.67 % at Re 5258.7 (0.0125 % vol), and 10.29 % at Re 5094.0 (0.00625 % vol). These results highlight that higher nanoparticle concentrations increase pressure drop, impacting energy efficiency. Lower concentrations (0.0125 % Vol and 0.00625 % Vol) provided better heat transfer with lower pressure losses. Total Efficiency Index (TEI), The optimal nanoparticle concentration for maximum thermal efficiency was approximately 0.0125 % Vol. TEI values were highest at this concentration, indicating enhanced heat transfer with minimal thermal resistance and pressure drop. Higher concentrations (0.2 % Vol and 0.3 % Vol) showed lower TEI values, suggesting reduced thermal efficiency due to increased flow resistance. These findings highlight the importance of selecting an appropriate nanoparticle concentration to optimize thermal performance in heat transfer systems, balancing the benefits of enhanced heat transfer with the drawbacks of higher-pressure losses.

A High-Power, Flexible, and Magnetically Attachable Radiative Cooling Film

Radiative cooling is an environmentally friendly, passive cooling technology that operates without energy consumption. Current research primarily focuses on optimizing the optical properties of radiative cooling films to enhance their cooling performance. In practical applications, thermal contact between the radiative cooling film and the object significantly influences the ultimate cooling performance. However, achieving optimal thermal contact has received limited attention. In this study, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a high-power, flexible, and magnetically attachable and detachable radiative cooling film. This film consists of polymer metasurface structures on a flexible magnetic layer. The monolithic design allows for convenient attachment to and detachment from steel or iron surfaces, ensuring optimal thermal contact with minimal thermal resistance and uniform temperature distribution. Our magnetic radiative cooling film exhibits superior cooling performance compared to non-magnetic alternatives. It can reduce the temperature of stainless-steel plates under sunlight by 15.2 °C, which is 3.6 °C more than that achieved by non-magnetic radiative cooling films. The radiative cooling power can reach 259 W∙m−2 at a working temperature of 70 °C. Unlike other commonly used attachment methods, such as thermal grease or one-off tape, our approach allows for detachment and reusability of the cooling film according to practical needs. This method offers great simplicity, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, making it promising for broad applications, particularly on non-horizontal irregular surfaces previously considered challenging.

Incorporating multi-source uncertainties in fast building wall thermal resistance estimation through physics-based and multi-fidelity statistical learning models

Meta-modeling and Bayesian inversion technique are proposed for fast and accurate in-situ estimation of the total thermal resistance (RTot) of walls using non-intrusive wall instrumentation. Various sources of uncertainties are taken into account to provide an enhanced credible interval for the thermal resistance estimate. In the considered protocol, a small zone of the internal surface of the wall is excited by a prototype to get faster in situ estimation and to limit the influence of external weather conditions. To be independent of the heat transfer coefficients and of the misknown layer thicknesses, which are difficult to estimate, we use herein the measurements of internal and external surface temperatures as boundary conditions in a thermal direct problem reformulated. A meta-model of the thermal model is created based on a statistical multi-fidelity approach with two levels of fidelity, Resistance-Capacitance (RC) and 1D models, to achieve the Bayesian estimation of the total thermal resistance in a reasonable computation time. The RTot estimation method is applied to realistic internal insulated walls (IIW), from poorly to highly insulated, under different weather conditions. Several numerical tests are carried out and credible intervals are provided to study the importance of the wall initial condition, the excitation time and the instrumentation. Finally, an experimental application is conducted using real measurements on an internal insulated wall (IIW) in Nancy (France). The obtained experimental results show that, in a short excitation time (10h) with a reduced instrumentation, the proposed method accurately estimates the minimum wall thermal resistance. For a standard wall of about 4 m2.K/W, a relevant estimate of RTot with a relative deviation less than 10% can be achieved by using a polynomial initial temperature profile proposed in this study, sufficient measurements and an excitation time of 3 days. This study thus offers prospects for improved energy assessment of buildings before and after renovation.

Experimental study on the thermal performance of a novel vapor chamber manufactured by 3D-printing technology

Vapor chamber holds great application potential in the field of heat dissipation for high-power electronic devices. This study developed a novel vapor chamber using 3D-printing technology to enhance heat dissipation for compact electronic devices. The vapor chamber was constructed from aluminum alloy with a structural dimension of 60×60×30mm3. In this work, the extended condensation structure of the vapor chamber was combined with an external cooling structure, resulting in a 729 % increase in the external heat dissipation area compared to the evaporation area in a limited space. Extensive experiments were conducted using deionized water as the working fluid under various cooling conditions and heat loads. The results showed that the vapor chamber was capable of maintaining a low thermal resistance at high power and high heat flux conditions, with a minimum thermal resistance of 0.087 °C/W when the heat load was 1000 W. At a cooling water flow rate of 0.1 L/s, the vapor chamber demonstrated the capacity to withstand a critical heat load of up to 1600 W, with the heat flux of 326 W/cm2. Compared to conventional vapor chambers, this novel vapor chamber is better able to achieve stable and efficient heat dissipation under high power and high heat flux conditions, especially in a limited space.

Enhanced heat transfer performance in vapor chambers via fabrication of novel regular composite porous wick structures using selective laser melting

The composite structure wick has been proven to significantly enhance the heat transfer performance of vapor chambers. Aluminum vapor chambers offer advantages such as being lightweight and cost-effective, meeting the requirements for lightweight cooling in fields like aviation. This study presented two novel composite porous wick structures with regular-shaped pores, designed and controlled via selective laser melting (SLM): the vertical square pore composite wick structure and the round-vertical square pore composite wick structure. A water-cooling test platform was built to investigate the effects of parameters such as wick structure thickness, round pore diameter, and round pore depth on the heat transfer performance and thermal resistance of the vapor chambers. The results indicate that the optimal thickness for the vertical square pore composite wick structure was 1.5 mm, yielding a minimum thermal resistance of 0.04 K/W. When the thickness was below 1.5 mm, it caused a reduction in the density of the vaporized core and insufficient liquid transport capacity. Conversely, when the thickness exceeded 1.5 mm, the primary limiting factor for heat transfer shifts to vapor-liquid flow resistance. Furthermore, the round-vertical square pore composite wick structure can provide further improvements in vapor-liquid transport within the structure.

Design and experimental analysis of a novel thermal diode with asymmetric heat transfer inspired by feather

To overcome the limitation of isotropic heat transfer of traditional heat pipes, a novel thermal diode with asymmetric flow resistance vapor channel inspired by the goose feather fibers is proposed in this study. The thermal performance of novel thermal diode is experimentally investigated. Results show that under the wide range of operating conditions, the thermal resistance of one end surpasses the thermal resistance of the other end, indicating its excellent thermal rectification capability. Under the filling ratio of 10 % and heating power of 7.5 W, the maximum thermal resistance of the thermal diode is 5.23 times the minimum thermal resistance, demonstrating excellent asymmetric heat transfer performance. Experimental results demonstrate that the novel thermal diode proposed in this study can easily change its unidirectional heat transfer direction by simply adjusting the internal filling ratio, showing significant application potential in the fields of thermal control system.

Optimizing solar collector through constructal design of Y-shaped networks with power-law nanofluid flow

Solar energy is a plentiful and renewable resource; therefore, its use through clean energy technologies is necessary to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and their consequent impact on the environment. Solar thermal energy can be harnessed to collect thermal energy through solar collectors for domestic or industrial use. In this work, a Y-shaped duct network was developed for a solar collector with a disc-shaped body. The shape and size of the network were defined using the constructal design method to harvest greater thermal energy from exposure to irradiance. For this purpose, the working fluid was a nanofluid composed of nanoparticles and a base fluid with non-Newtonian behavior, as described by the power-law model. The properties of the nanofluid were described using theoretical models that depend on the volume fraction of the nanoparticles in the base fluid. The aspect ratio of each element in the network was defined under the condition of minimum thermal resistance. For the shear-thinning nanofluid with a volume fraction of 0.04, the thermal resistance was reduced by 5.5% with an aspect ratio 5.8% lower than that of the pure base fluid. The minimum thermal resistance of the Y-shaped network arrangement occurs for shear-thinning fluids, whereas thermal resistance increases for shear-thickening fluids. This effect can be observed at different levels of branching and in pumping power. Results show that increasing the volume fraction of the nanofluid and base fluid with shear-thinning behavior aids in achieving minimal thermal resistance more easily with a smaller network. The above offers new design options for devices optimized to improve solar harvesting and thermal management, through shape, structure and rheological characteristics.

Analyzing the Effect of Yarn Tension, Weft Yarn Type, and Weft Yarn Density on Thermal Resistance, Thermal Conductivity, and Air Permeability of Plain Woven Fabric

ABSTRACT Uncomfortable feelings during wear highly affect human health, work efficiency, and mental satisfaction. This study evaluated the thermal comfort of woven fabrics made from 16Ne ring and rotor spun weft yarns(x1). The other variables involved are warp tensions (x2) of 1 kilo newton (KN) and 2 kN, weft tensions (x3) of PFT/B- and PFT/B+T, and weft densities (x4) of 14 picks per centimeter (PPC) and 18 PPC. Comfort properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal insulation, and air permeability were measured and analyzed. The fabric produced from rotor-spun weft yarn showed better thermal comfort properties than the fabric made from ring-spun weft yarn. The results of the analysis revealed that when warp and weft yarn tension increased and weft density decreased, thermal conductivity and air permeability also increased. However, thermal insulation of the fabric decreased as yarn tension increased. On the other hand, as the weft density increased, the thermal insulation of the fabric increased. Air permeability increased as weft tension increased from PFT/B- to PFT/B+T and it decreased as weft density increased from 14 PPC to 18PPC. The maximum thermal conductivity and minimum thermal resistance were attained at 14 PPC weft density and ring-spun weft yarn.

Experimental investigation and numerical prediction on heat transfer performance of a high speed radially rotating heat pipe

A CFD model considering the saturation pressure difference inside radially rotating heat pipes (RRHP) was proposed to reveal the heat transfer characteristics. To validate the model, copper-water RRHPs were designed and experimented. These experiments were conducted under equivalent centrifugal accelerations ranging from 100 g to 1500 g, with heat inputs varying from 40 W to 240 W. The centrifugal force has a significant influence on heat transfer in the evaporator, leading to the observed of two different working states in the RRHP: forced convection and pool boiling. An unstable transition state may be observed between these two states. As the rotation speed increased, the occurrence of pool boiling gradually suppressed and the heat transfer performance of the RRHP decreased. At 100 g, the minimum thermal resistance was 0.1792 K/W and at 1500 g the minimum thermal resistance slightly increased to 0.2369 K/W. The numerical results showed demonstrated strong agreement with the experiments, with an overall error below 10 %. Subsequently, a working condition diagram was included to provide a dimensionless description for the RRHP heat transfer behaviours based on the Weber number and Bond number. Finally, the heat transfer performance of RRHP under centrifugal accelerations ranging from 2000 g to 1000 g was simulated. The results indicated that even under 10000 g, RRHP can still maintain the thermal resistance at 0.2527 K/W. And the model can be used to further investigate the potential application of different RRHPs in high-speed rotating machinery.

Non-invasive mass flow and local heat transfer coefficient measurements in pulsating heat pipes

A single loop Pulsating Heating Pipe (PHP) experimental setup was developed for non-invasive measurement of the local heat transfer coefficient and the mass flow along the PHP evaporator. These measurements are valuable to validate modeling tools used in the design of PHP. A two-step differential heat input method was used for measurement of mass flow and the results were compared with the optical and theoretical results. The conditions tested in the PHP were 50, 60 and 70% filling ratio, R134a as working fluid, internal diameter of 2 mm, saturation temperature of between 30 to 40 °C, inclination angles from 30 to 90° (vertical bottom heat mode) and heat loads on the evaporator from 10 up to 68 W. The results indicate a high performance in heat transfer of the PHP, with minimum internal thermal resistance values close to 0.008 K/W as well as local heat transfer coefficients greater than 10 kW/m2K for observed values of mass velocities between 60 and 140 kg/m2s. The results were compared with correlations from the literature and these were able to predict the results with a 20% average error margin, suggesting many similarities with convective boiling mechanisms.

Experimental study of an aluminum based three-dimensional thermosyphon heat sink with microscale enhancement structure

One of the most significant limitations to the advancement of electronics is the issue of heat dissipation. Currently, air cooling remains the most widely used method for heat dissipation due to the advantages of low cost and ease of maintenance. However, the traditional air-cooling method based on an all-solid heat sink is unable to keep pace with the rapid advancement in thermal power of electronics due to its limitation in area expansion by only solid fins. This study proposes an aluminum-based three-dimensional thermosyphon (3D-TS) coupling boiling-condensation heat transfer and forced air cooling as a means of overcoming the limitations of conventional air-cooling methods. Additionally, the incorporation of micro pin-fins enhances the boiling heat transfer and the overall performance of the three-dimensional thermosyphon. The performance of the three-dimensional thermosyphon is experimentally studied and analyzed under different volumetric flow rates using the environmentally friendly refrigerant R1233zd(E) as the working fluid. The results indicate that the total thermal resistance exhibits a biphasic response to heating power, with a decrease initially followed by an increase. This response is primarily attributed to the boiling mode on the substrate. Moreover, the micro pin-fins significantly enhance the boiling heat transfer on the substrate of the three-dimensional thermosyphon, enabling the three-dimensional thermosyphon to reach a minimum thermal resistance of 0.075 K/W and a maximum thermal dissipating power of 650 W with the temperature of the heating source below 85 °C. The three-dimensional thermosyphon proposed in this work is capable of meeting the cooling requirements of the majority of high-performance chips. This paper offers a valuable reference and guidance for the design and optimization of the phase-change devices.

Visualization investigation on heat and mass transfer of Al2O3 nanofluid in vapor chamber

As the vapor chamber (VC) moves towards ultra-thinness to meet the thermal management of microelectronic devices, achieving efficient heat transfer within a limited space poses severe challenges. In this study, a visualization VC with a thickness of only 0.9 mm was designed to investigate the heat transfer effect and boiling behavior of nanofluid applied on VC. The influences of Al2O3-deionized water (Al2O3-DW) with different mass concentrations and filling ratios on the heat transfer characteristics and flowing behavior were explored. The results indicated that the addition of nanoparticles improved the temperature uniformity and startup performance of VC. At 0.3 wt%, nanofluid promoted bubbles generation and growth, enhancing the phase-change process. The minimum thermal resistance was 1.46 K/W, representing a 13.6 % reduction compared to that of DW. However, at 0.6 wt% and under high filling ratios or heat load, excessive nanoparticles tended to accumulate on the surface of bubbles by surface tension during the boiling process and were pushed to the gas–liquid interface under the pressure gradient, resulting in deteriorated heat transfer. The results also found that deposition of nanoparticles further enhanced heat transfer. Nonetheless, the nanoparticles were detached from the substrate as the bubbles boiled, and the enhancement effect gradually diminished. The relevant research findings provide guidance for the application of nanofluids in ultra-thin VC.

Effect of graphene arrangement on the thermal conductivity of graphene/polymer nanocomposites

ABSTRACT Due to its high thermal conductivity (up to 5300 W/mK), graphene is considered an ideal filler for composites with a polymer matrix to form a thermal interface material with excellent thermal performance. The thermal conductivity of graphene/polymer nanocomposites can be effectively improved by increasing the aspect ratio of graphene, simultaneously increasing the lateral size and thickness of graphene at a constant aspect ratio or changing the ordered orientation of graphene nanosheets (GNSs) filled in the polymer matrix. Experimental results have shown that the ultrahigh thermal conductivity of the composites can be achieved in the in-plane direction due to the minimum interface thermal resistance along this direction. To detect the arrangement structure of GNSs on the thermal conductivity of the composites, this paper obtained the expressions of the effective thermal conductivity for anisotropic GNSs/polymer composites based on the multiple-scattering theory, where the effect of the number of GNSs layers on the interface thermal resistance and thermal conductivity of GNSs is considered. The numerical results show that the composites parallel to the aligned direction of GNSs have greater thermal conductivity than those perpendicular to it. The ordered orientation of GNSs can effectively improve the thermal conductivity for GNSs/polymer nanocomposites.

Study on the flow and heat transfer characteristics inside high-porosity open-cell copper foams: Experimental and numerical explorations

A metal foam with an open-cell structure is a type of material with low flow resistance, high specific surface area, and strong fluid mixing ability. Open-cell metal foams have broad application prospects in electronic component cooling, multiphase heat exchangers, and compact heat exchangers for aerospace applications. This paper presented experimental and numerical analyses of the flow and heat transfer characteristics of five different copper foams under forced air convection. The pores per inch (PPI) of selected foams were 10, 20, 30, 40, and 60, with porosities ranging from 0.968 to 0.973. Analysis of the collected heat transfer and pressure drop data yielded the overall heat transfer coefficient, unit pressure drop, normalized average wall temperature, inertia coefficient, and resistance coefficient. The influence mechanisms of the porosity and flow velocity on heat transfer were analyzed and discussed. The numerical simulation and experiment fitted well. The results showed that increasing porosity led to a significant increase in heat transfer coefficient and unit pressure drop. The 60 PPI foam brought the maximum pressure drop while achieved the minimum thermal resistance.

High-efficiency thermal-electric conversion enabled by water-solid triboelectric nanogenerators within a 3D pulsating heat pipe

At present, effective strategies for obtaining electric energy from harvesting and converting thermal energy have attracted great attention in the field of new energy. According to the working principle of electrostatic induction and triboelectrification, the triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) technology is regarded as a promising energy harvester. Herein, we propose a novel thermal-electric generator that combines a liquid-solid TENG and a 3D pulsating heat pipe (3D-PHP). The liquid-solid TENG consists of copper foil and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubes, and 50 % deionized water is filled into the 3D-PHP. Based on phase change heat transfer, water columns in the 3D-PHP will pulsate and flow through a liquid-solid TENG, leading to the generation of electric energy. The minimum thermal resistance of this 3D-PHP with TENGs is only 0.131 K/W at a heating power of 200 W, indicating it has excellent heat transfer performance. The peak output voltage and power generated by the developed 3D-PHP generator are up to 14 V and 1.05 μW, respectively. Finally, the harvested electricity is successfully applied to power a digital thermometer. These findings will offer a promising strategy for harvesting thermal energy from electronic equipment and systems involving high-flux heat production and dissipation.

Multi-objective optimization of weight reduction process parameters of micropolyester woven fabrics using Taguchi gray relational analysis

The weight loss process variables of alkali-treated micropolyester woven fabrics were optimized and reported in this study. The gray relational analysis with the help of the Taguchi technique was efficiently used to optimize the key variables of this process. The caustic soda concentration, treatment temperature, and weight loss machine speed were considered the control or design parameters. The weight reduction percentage, air permeability, tensile strength, and thermal resistance of alkali-treated woven polyester fabrics were also considered as responses in this study. The experiments were implemented according to a 33 full factorial design. The levels of the control parameters which yield the maximum weight reduction, tensile strength, air permeability, and minimum thermal resistance of the treated polyester fabrics were found to be the sodium hydroxide concentration, and treatment temperature with the highest levels, and machine speed with the lowest level. This means that a 27% caustic soda concentration, treatment temperature of 125°C, and machine speed of 40 m/min exhibited the optimum properties of the treated micropolyester fabrics. It was also proved that the treatment temperature is the most influential factor affecting the micropolyester fabric’s properties. The confirmation test, which was carried out in this study, confirmed that the gray relational analysis improved the alkali-treated polyester fabric properties.

Performance of a novel loop heat pipe coupled with micro vapor-driven jet injector – An experimental and numerical study

Loop heat pipe (LHP) is an efficient phase-change heat transfer device which has been widely applied in cooling high-power electronics on ground and in spacecraft. In previous work, a novel LHP coupled with vapor-driven jet injector (VDJI) has been proved to be feasible and shows excellent performance, namely LHPI. However, due to the lack of pressure data during LHP operation, the coupling mechanisms of VDJI and LHP remain unknown. Especially, the heat-mass transfer between high-speed vapor and subcooled liquid inside VDJI, which has great influence on the LHPI, need to be investigated to guide the design of the LHPI. In this paper, the start-up process, steady-state operation characteristic of LHPI and internal flow field of VDJI were investigated experimentally and numerically. By using the pore-forming sintering and integrated sintering method, the bi-porous wick was prepared and embedded on the base plate surface of evaporator, which brought a significant improvement in its performance. The results indicated that the LHPI could operate under a power of 600 W (50.0 W/cm2) without dry-out. Maintaining the heating wall temperature within 85 °C, the minimum thermal resistance of the LHPI with bi-porous and integrated sintered wick was below 0.18, and the maximum heating power can reach up to 404 W, which are 60% lower and 52.5% higher than mono-porous wick, respectively. In addition, four operation modes of VDJI were classified as low-efficiency mode, normal-injection mode, restricted expansion mode and superheated mode. The operation modes of VDJI had great influence on the performance of LHPI. In normal-injection mode, the entrainment ratio of VDJI exceeded 100, which resulted in the lowest thermal resistance of LHPI. For long-term operation of LHPI, the VDJI is suggested keep operating in normal-injection mode. Moreover, by using 3D numerical simulation method, the internal flow structure of the VDJI was obtained to gives an insight into mechanisms of these four operation modes. The numerical results showed the profile of compression waves and confirmed the existence of condensation shock wave in VDJI.