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
THERMAL PERFORMANCE COMPARISON BETWEEN WATER-COPPER AND WATER-STAINLESS STEEL HEAT PIPES DESIGNED FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
Abstract
Heat pipes are a closed tube or chamber of different shapes whose inner surfaces are lined with a porous
capillary wick. The wick is saturated with the liquid phase of a working fluid and the remaining volume of
the tube contains the vapor phase, able to transport large quantities of heat with little temperature difference
between the evaporation and condensation sections, presenting a highly efficient heat transfer process. Heat
pipes have become highly reliable systems and since 1970 and this technology has been widely applied in
various areas, such as heat exchangers, spacecraft thermal control and cooling systems for electronic
components. This technology has found increasing application in improving the thermal performance of heat
exchangers in many industrial environments. The use of heat pipes in heat exchangers allows the
development of more compact and efficient equipments, when compared to traditional heat exchangers. For
some applications, such as heat recovery in industrial process, the use of heat pipes on heat exchangers
presents to be rather interesting due to its direct influence on increasing the efficiency, allowing a more
compact design. In this scenario, this paper aims to present experimental results of heat pipes operation
designed and manufactured in stainless steel and copper using water as working fluid, operating at
temperatures up to 200 °C for industrial applications. Even though water-copper heat pipes present a better
thermal performance when compared to the water-stainless steel heat pipes, there is a wide application not
only for industry but also for aerospace.