Fundamental Issues and Technical Problems About Pulsating Heat Pipes

Abstract

Since the introduction of Pulsating Heat Pipes (PHPs) in early 1990s, PHPs have received a lot of attention due to their obvious advantages such as the geometrical simplicity, and the potential for high-heat flux applications even without power consumption. Although numerous investigators have studied PHPs over the last three decades, there still exist a few controversial issues on fundamental characteristics and several technical problems in practical applications. To put finishing touches to the controversial issues and to shed light on technical problems, recent advances in PHPs are critically reviewed in this paper. The results of the critical review are classified into two categories: (i) fundamental aspects of PHPs and (ii) practical aspects of PHPs. First category focuses on reviewing the current state of the art on the fundamental characteristics of PHPs. Second category summarizes the technical problems which are resolved for utilizing PHPs in practical applications. This review paper would help researchers or engineers who are working on or utilizing PHPs.

Innovations in pulsating heat pipes: From origins to future perspectives

“…The absence of porous wicks or any other capillary structure allows the PHP assessment to be shaped or bended with a degree of freedom considerably higher than the other members of the heat pipe family. This feature opens to a wide variety of pioneering applications such as foldable heat dissipators in electronic devices [108], flexible or deployable heat transfer elements for space applications [109] [110]. Two main paths can be found in the literature to develop flexible PHPs: one focusses on the use of thin plastic substrates, normally FPPHPs, covered with a metallic coating; the other relies on the use of metallic tubular structures.…”

Experimental analysis and transient numerical simulation of a large diameter pulsating heat pipe in microgravity conditions

“…Despite the experience gained in PHP field [14], simulation tools are needed to optimize the design of such devices. Since no steady-state data is available for large diameter PHP, it is inevitable to validate models on the start-up transient behavior.…”