Flow visualization experiment has conducted on the methanol charged vertical Closed Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe (PHP) to investigate the effect of different heat inputs on overall thermal resistance, average evaporator and condenser temperature and corresponding hydrodynamic behavior. A PHP has made from four parallel glass tubes forming adiabatic section, interconnected alternately by copper U tubes, having internal and external diameter 2 mm and 3.06 mm respectively. The length of evaporator, condenser and adiabatic section are 42 mm, 50 mm and 170 mm respectively. For experimentation, filling ratio (FR) 50% and vertical bottom heating mode position was maintained. Electrical heat input to the evaporator varies from 8W to 80W with interval of 8W after steady state was reached. The result shows that, thermal resistance of a PHP rapidly decreases with increasing heating power from 8W to 32W and thereafter reasonably steady for further heating powers. From visualization it is observed that, the thermal performance of a PHP is dependent on the flow patterns in PHP tubes. Continuous unidirectional flow circulation in the tubes of PHP gives best thermal performance than pulsation and dry-out conditions.
This paper presents preliminary experimental results on thermal performance of closed loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP). The copper capillary tube was used having internal and external diameter 2.0 mm and 3.6 mm respectively. For all experimentation, filling ratio (FR) was 50 %, number of turns was 10 and different heat inputs of 10 to 100W were supplied to PHP. For all PHPs, Vertical bottom "heat mode" (+90 0) position is maintained. The equal lengths of evaporator, adiabatic and condenser sections were 50 mm each. Working fluids are selected as Methanol, ethanol, acetone, water and different binary mixtures. The graphs are plotted, in order to study, characteristics of the thermal resistance and average evaporator temperatures at different heat input for various working fluids. Experimental study on PHP indicated that working fluid is an important factor for the performance of PHPs. The result shows that, the thermal resistance decreases more rapidly with the increase of the heating power from 20 to 60 W, whereas slowly decreases at input power above 60 W. Pure acetone gives best thermal performance in comparison with the other working fluids. No measurable difference has been recorded between the PHPs running with pure and binary mixture working fluids.
Pulsating heat pipe's (PHP) are one of the alternatives to conventional heat transfer technologies. First part of this paper, titled: thermohydrodynamic behavior of methanol charged closed loop pulsating heat pipe has given information about thermo-hydrodynamic operational characteristics such as; bubble nucleation and collapse, bubble agglomeration and pumping action, flow regime changes, pressure/temperature perturbations, dynamic instabilities, meta-stable non-equilibrium conditions etc. in the PHP. Present paper, which is an extension of the previous work, it presents some more thermal results to highlight the effect of; thermo-physical properties of working fluid, filling ratio and number of turns on thermal performance of PHP. Three different PHP loop has been made from six, four and two parallel glass tubes (i.e. three turns, two turns and one turn at evaporator section) forming adiabatic section, interconnected alternately by copper U tubes, having internal and external diameter 2 mm and 3.06 mm respectively. The length of evaporator, condenser and adiabatic section are 42 mm, 50 mm and 170 mm respectively. The experimentation conducted for different working fluids (water, ethanol, methanol and acetone), different filling ratio's (30%FR, 50%FR and 70%FR) and different number of turns (one, two and three turns). The motto of present research is to understand the thermal performance in terms of thermal resistance of PHP in details. The result shows that, thermal resistance for all working fluid PHP's rapidly decreases with increasing heating power up to 32W. For low heating power, working fluid (acetone) which has lower boiling temperature is best, but it cannot give the service for higher heating power. Two turn PHP loop with methanol 50% volumetric filling ratio at more than 32W heating power with one directional flow circulation is the optimum operating condition of present research.
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