Experimental Investigation of a Flat-Plate Oscillating Heat Pipe With Groove-Enhanced Minichannels

Author(s):  
Matthew J. Rhodes ◽  
Scott M. Thompson

Abstract The thermal and capillary performance of a groove-enhanced, or “microchannel-embedded,” flat-plate oscillating heat pipe (MC FP-OHP) was experimentally investigated while varying heating width, orientation, working fluid and operating temperature. The copper MC FP-OHP possessed two layers of 1.02 × 1.02 mm2 square channels, with the center 14 channels possessing two embedded microchannels (0.25 × 0.13 mm2) aligned coaxially with the primary minichannels. A FP-OHP without embedded microchannels, but with deeper minichannels (DC FP-OHP), was also tested for comparison. The FP-OHPs were filled with Novec 7200 or water (both at 80% ± 2% by volume), and the heating widths were varied between full-width and localized configurations: 38.71 cm2 and 14.52 cm2, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that the MC FP-OHP is significantly less sensitive to operating orientation and can perform with less detriment as heat flux increases. The MC FP-OHP has a lower startup heating requirement and provides more fluid wetting along the FP-OHP structure—which is advantageous for pumping liquid from the evaporator to the condenser. The MC FP-OHP has enhanced convective heat transfer during operation, as it was observed to have similar or lower thermal resistances to that of the DC FP-OHP for a wide range of operating conditions. The groove-enhanced minichannel within the MC FP-OHP also provides for enhanced heat transfer because there being more thin-film evaporation sites and vapor–liquid mixing between the minichannel and microchannels.

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamlesh K. Mehta ◽  
Nirvesh Mehta ◽  
Vivek Patel

Abstract Flat plate oscillating heat pipe (FP-OHP) is a unique heat transfer device and considered as a promising candidate for effective heat transfer device in electronics industries. A number of theoretical studies and experimental investigations have been carried out on FP-OHP in the past decades after its invention. However, due to the operational characteristics of FP-OHP, the effect of various parameters on the thermal performance of FP-OHP has not been completely revealed so far. This paper attempts to discuss the effect of operational parameters on the thermal performance of FP-OHP. In this study, the FP-OHP was investigated with different charge ratios, orientations, working fluids, and heat loads from 10 W to 150 W. In order to investigate the effect, 18 parallel square channels of 2 × 2 mm2 are machined onto pure copper plate (93 × 70 × 8 mm3) to form FP-OHP. DI water, ethanol, methanol, acetone, and FC-72 are investigated. The measured thermal resistance was strongly dependent on operational parameters. The optimum performance was observed with acetone with a charge ratio of 70% in the vertical orientation. The lowest thermal resistance of 0.39 °C/W is achieved using acetone as a working fluid at 100 W. A Kutateladze number (Ku) was used to compare the experimental data and found to be suitable for prediction of the thermal performance of FP-OHP with standard deviation of 15%.


Author(s):  
Bohan Tian ◽  
Hongbin Ma ◽  
Yang Deming ◽  
Jiujun Xu ◽  
Zhiyong Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract The heat flux in electronics requires the thermal management of printed circuit boards (PCBs) using two-phase cooling methods. In this study, an integrated ceramic heat transfer device, the alumina flat-plate oscillating heat pipe, is developed. The device was fabricated by pressing and sintering procedures, and the inner serpentine channels were simultaneously formed during sintering without brazing or separated caps. This novel manufacturing process simplifies the fabrication of the macrochannels inside ceramic devices and provides a new method for fabricating ceramic two-phase cooling devices. This paper presents an analysis of the internal channel’s formation mechanism and illustrates the major factors of densification. Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) scanning was adopted to assess the macrostructure, and SEM was used to characterize the microstructure of the alumina OHP. Water was charged inside the device as the working fluid. The effects of the power input, orientation, operating temperature and filling ratio on the heat transfer performance were investigated. The experimental results show that the alumina OHP has a high heat transport capability. When the OHP structure is embedded inside the alumina and charged with water, the thermal resistance can be reduced by 97%.


2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Iwata ◽  
Hiroyuki Ogawa ◽  
Yoshiro Miyazaki

It is reported that the operating temperature of an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) at an operating limit is not dependent on the ambient temperature but that the maximum heat transfer is dependent on this. In this study, using different ambient temperature conditions, a 15-turn OHP filled with HFC-134a as a working fluid was operated until it dries out. The maximum heat transfer was found to vary with changes in the ambient temperature, but the operating temperature at an operating limit, which depends on the filling ratio (FR) of the working fluid, was found to be constant. At the operating limit, the operating temperature decreased with an increase in the FR when the ratio was greater than 50 wt.%. Visualization experiments and calculations were used to confirm that there is an increase in the liquid volume in the OHP in accordance with an increase in the heat input and that ultimately the OHP fills with the liquid, resulting in the failure of OHP operation. In contrast, at the operating limit, when the FR was less than 50%, the operating temperature increased in line with an increase in the FR. In this case, it is assumed that the volume of liquid slugs decreases as the heat input increases, thus causing the OHP to dry out. This theory is explained using a P–V diagram of the working fluid in the OHP. The OHP thermodynamic cycle reaches a saturated liquid or vapor line before it reaches a critical point if a specified volume is shifted from the specified volume at the critical point. The optimum FR for maximum heat transfer is therefore decided by the void ratio at the critical point of the working fluid.


Author(s):  
Mitchell P. Hoesing ◽  
Gregory J. Michna

The ongoing development of faster and smaller electronic components has led to a need for new technologies to effectively dissipate waste thermal energy. The pulsating heat pipe (PHP) shows potential to meet this need, due to its high heat flux capacity, simplicity, and low cost. A 20-turn flat plate PHP was integrated into an aluminum flat plate heat sink with a simulated electronic load. The PHP heat sink used water as the working fluid and had 20 parallel channels with dimensions 2 mm × 2 mm × 119 mm. Experiments were run under various operating conditions, and thermal resistance of the PHP was calculated. The performance enhancement provided by the PHP was assessed by comparing the thermal resistance of the heat sink with no working fluid to that of it charged with water. Uncharged, the PHP was found to have a resistance of 1.97 K/W. Charged to a fill ratio of approximately 75% and oriented vertically, the PHP achieved a resistance of .49 K/W and .53 K/W when the condenser temperature was set to 20°C and 30°C, respectively. When the PHP was tilted to 45° above horizontal the PHP had a resistance of .76 K/W and .59 K/W when the condenser was set 20°C and 30°C, respectively. The PHP greatly improves the heat transfer properties of the heat sink compared to the aluminum plate alone. Additional considerations regarding flat plate PHP design are also presented.


Author(s):  
Lilin Chu ◽  
Yulong Ji ◽  
Chunrong Yu ◽  
Yantao Li ◽  
Hongbin Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract In order to understand the heat transfer performance, startup and fluid flow condition of oscillating heat pipe (OHP) with hydraulic diameter far exceeding the maximum hydraulic diameter (MHD), an experimental investigation on heat transfer performance and visualization was conducted. From the experimental performance, it is found that the OHP can still work well with ethanol as the working fluid when the tube diameter has exceeded the MHD of 91.6%. In addition, the detailed flow patterns of the OHP were recorded by a highspeed camera for vertical and horizontal orientation to understand its physical mechanism. In the vertical orientation, initially working fluid generates small bubbles, and then the small bubbles coalesce and grow to vapor plugs, the vapor plugs finally pushes the liquid slugs to oscillate in the tube. In the horizontal orientation, the working fluid surface fluctuates due to the vapors flow from the evaporator to the condenser and bubbles burst in the evaporator. When the peak of liquid wave reaches the upper surface of tube, a liquid slug has been formed, and then the steam flow pushes the liquid slugs to oscillate in the tube.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Hao ◽  
Hongbin Ma ◽  
Xuehu Ma

A new oscillating heat pipe (OHP) charged with hybrid fluids can improve thermal performance. The key difference in this OHP is that it uses room temperature liquid metal (Galinstan consisting of gallium, indium, and tin) and water as the working fluid. The OHP was fabricated on a copper plate with six turns and a 3 × 3 mm2 cross section. The OHP with hybrid fluids as the working fluid was investigated through visual observation and thermal measurement. Liquid metal was successfully driven to flow through the OHP by the pressure difference between the evaporator and the condenser without external force. Experimental results show that while added liquid metal can increase the heat transport capability, liquid metal oscillation amplitude decreases as the filling ratio of liquid metal increases. Visualization of experimental results show that liquid metal oscillation position and velocity increase as the heat input increases. Oscillating motion of liquid metal in the OHP significantly increases the heat transfer performance at high heat input. The lowest thermal resistance of 0.076 °C/W was achieved in the hybrid fluids-filled OHP with a heat input of 420 W. We experimentally demonstrated a 13% higher heat transfer performance using liquid metal as the working fluid compared to an OHP charged with pure water.


Author(s):  
Hani H. Sait ◽  
Steve M. Demsky ◽  
HongBin Ma

An analytical model describing thin film evaporation is developed that includes the effects of surface tension, frictional shear stress, wetting characteristics and disjoining pressure. The effects of thermal conductivity of working fluids and operating temperature on the evaporating thin film region are also studied. The results indicate that when the thermal conductivity of the working fluid increases, a high heat flux can be removed from the evaporating thin film region. The operating temperature affects the thin film evaporation. The higher the operating temperature, the more heat flux can be removed from the region. The information of thin film evaporation presented in the paper results in a better understanding of heat transfer mechanism occurring in micro heat pipes.


2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Jiao ◽  
H. B. Ma ◽  
J. K. Critser

A mathematical model predicting the heat transport capability in a miniature flat heat pipe (FHP) with a wired wick structure was developed to analytically determine its maximum heat transport rate including the capillary limit. The effects of gravity on the profile of the thin-film-evaporation region and the distribution of the heat flux along a curved surface were investigated. The heat transfer characteristics of the thin-film evaporation on the curved surface were also analyzed and compared with that on a flat surface. Combining the analysis on the thin-film-condensation heat transfer in the condenser, the model can be used to predict the total temperature drop between the evaporator and condenser in the FHP. In order to verify the model, an experimental investigation was conducted. The theoretical results predicted by the model agree well with the experimental data for the heat transfer process occurring in the FHP with the wired wick structure. Results of the investigation will assist in the optimum design of the curved-surface wicks to enlarge the thin-film-evaporation region and a better understanding of heat transfer mechanisms in heat pipes.


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