ISSN Online: 2379-1748
ISBN Flash Drive: 978-1-56700-431-1
ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-430-4
First Thermal and Fluids Engineering Summer Conference
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF COPPER-WATER HEAT PIPES OPERATION AT MID-LEVEL TEMPERATURE RANGE FOR AEROSPACE AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
摘要
Heat pipes are two-phase heat transfer devices with the capacity of transferring large amounts of heat with a
small temperature difference between the evaporation section and the condensation section, making the heat
transfer process to be highly efficient. Heat pipe technology is not restricted to aerospace applications, which is frequently used as thermal control devices of satellites and space vehicles, but also being widely used in the industrial sector especially on heat recovery systems, with an increasing development for thermal control of electronic equipment and heat exchangers performance augmentation. The use of heat pipes in such
equipment technology allows the development of more compact and efficient heat exchanger compared to
traditional designs, which increases the interest on applying heat pipes for industrial purposes. Heat pipes
operating at mid-level temperatures (up to 200 °C) have found several applications on both aerospace sector
and industry segments. In this scenario, this paper presents an investigation regarding the operation of heat
pipes designed and manufactured in copper, with different configurations on the metal screen mesh utilized
as porous structure and water as the working fluid, operating at mid-level temperatures. Results of
experimental tests have demonstrated reliable operation when cyclic loads were applied, obtaining fast
responses since their start-up until their operation at steady-state.