Which are the main applications of heat pipes?
Heat pipes were first developed for use by Los Alamos National Laboratory to supply heat to and remove waste heat from energy conversion systems. Today, heat pipes are used in a variety of cooling applications from space to medical devices and power electronics cooling to aircraft and more!
What are pulsating heat pipes?
Pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) are compact cooling equipment used for various applications. This type of heat pipes can be used in renewable energy systems, cooling electronic devices, heat recovery systems and many other applications.
How does a pulsating heat pipe work?
The tube is first evacuated and then filled partially with a working fluid, which distributes itself naturally in the form of liquid-vapor plugs and slugs inside the capillary tube. One end of this tube bundle receives heat, transferring it to the other end by a pulsating action of the liquid-vapor/bubble-slug system.
What are the advantages of heat pipe?
Heat pipe technology is an efficient yet effective approach to enclosure cooling that contains no moving parts except for air circulation fans. This characteristic makes it highly suitable for applications that require a sealed enclosure but have limited power supplies.
Do Heat pipes work upside down?
Heat pipes work best with the heat source on the “bottom” of the heat pipe with respect to gravity. They will work “upside down” but not nearly as well.
Why heat pipes are used in heat exchanger?
Heat pipes are very flexible systems with regard to effective thermal control. They can easily be implemented as heat exchangers inside sorption and vapour-compression heat pumps, refrigerators and other types of heat transfer devices.
What liquid is used in heat pipes?
Working Fluids The most common heat pipe working fluid is water for an operating temperature range from 1°C to 325°C. Low temperature heat pipes use fluids such as ammonia and nitrogen. High temperature heat pipes utilize cesium, potassium, NaK and sodium (873–1,473°K).
Is heat pipe better than copper?
The effective thermal conductivity of a heat pipe is up to 90 times greater than the solid copper for the same size. Lighter in weight when compared to solid copper of the same size. Heat pipes can be used to effectively carry heat from the base of the heatsink to the underutilized sections of the fins.
Can heat pipes work gravity?
Can heat pipes work against gravity? Yes, this occurs whenever the evaporator is located above the condenser. In these applications the working fluid must be pumped against gravity back to the evaporator.