Heat Transport Characteristics of the Capillary Pumped Loop for Cooling the Tower-Type Computer

Author(s):  
Atsushi Tsujimori ◽  
Masashi Kato ◽  
Hajime Morita ◽  
Maiko Uchida

In this study the capillary pumped loop was manufactured as a cooling device for the tower-type personal computer and the heat transport characteristics of this cooling device was investigated. The experimental equipment consisted of the evaporator, the condenser, the liquid tube, the vapor tube and the reservoir. The length and the diameter of the evaporator were 150mm and 27mm respectively and had capillary wick in it with equivalent diameter of 5μm. In the experiment, the heat flux to the evaporator and the cooling water temperature were changed. And the effects of enclosed quantity of the working fluid (R134a) in the reservoir and the evaporator height above the condenser on heat transport rate were also investigated. Experimental results shown that this capillary pumped loop was able to transport heat rate of 15 to 95W (heat flux of 995 to 6051 W/m2) with highest temperature of 343K and that the temperature difference in the loop was 16.7 to 43.9 K in the case of 2500mm in its heat transport length and cooling temperature of 293K. And it was derived that the working fluid enclosed rate affected the maximum heat transport rate. The computer code was also developed to evaluate the effect of the refrigerant enclosed rate and the wick thickness on the heat transport rate considering the pressure drop to the circumference direction in the wick.

Author(s):  
Atsushi Tsujimori ◽  
Masashi Kato ◽  
Maiko Uchida

Capillary pumped loop has been widely investigated for space thermal control devices. This cooling device with high reliability and thermal controllability is also considered to be suited to cool electronic devices like personal computers. Because the capillary pumped loop is good at absorbing heat from high heat flux region like micro-processors, transporting it and releasing it from the large surface for packaging. In this research, the experimental equipment of the capillary pumped loop was manufactured. The experimental apparatus consists of the evaporator, the condenser, the liquid line, the vapor line and the reservoir. In the experiments heat load is applied to the evaporator by a resistance heater. And heat is released from the condenser to the cooling water which is set to be a constant temperature by the refrigerator. The length and the diameter of the evaporator are 150mm and 27mm respectively and the capillary wick with equivalent diameter of 5μm is embedded in the evaporator. These specifications were designed to give 2500mm heat transport distance and to adapt the natural convection heat transfer to the ambient without a cooling fan. As is proposed in the recent study, the inside of the capillary wick was used as the reservoir to simplify the loop. In our previous study, the heat transport characteristics in steady states were investigated when the heat flux, the cooling water temperature and the evaporator height above the condenser changed, and then the effects of enclosed rate of the working fluid in the reservoir and the inclination angles of the evaporator on heat transport rate were investigated. The computer code was also developed to simulate the heat transport characteristics and evaluate the maximum heat transport rate of the tested capillary pump. In the next step, we focus on the dynamic characteristics. The heat loads of the micro-processors in the computers usually change according to the working conditions of the application software and vary hourly. Thus the active thermal regulation accompanied with the change of heat loads is the important factor for cooling devices in the computers. So in this study the heat transport characteristics in the dynamic conditions of the capillary pumped loop were investigated. In the experiment, the start-up and shut-down mode at a given heat load were tested at first. Then heat load were changed in incremental or decremental steps from 30 to 70W. All results show the good thermal controllability.


Volume 3 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kempers ◽  
A. Robinson ◽  
C. Ching ◽  
D. Ewing

A study was performed to experimentally characterize the effect of fluid loading on the heat transport performance of wicked heat pipes. In particular, experiments were performed to characterize the performance of heat pipes with insufficient fluid to saturate the wick and excess fluid for a variety of orientations. It was found that excess working fluid in the heat pipe increased the thermal resistance of the heat pipe, but increased maximum heat flux through the pipe in a horizontal orientation. The thermal performance of the heat pipe was reduced when the amount of working fluid was less than required to saturate the wick, but the maximum heat flux through the heat pipe was significantly reduced at all orientations. It was also found in this case the performance of this heat pipe deteriorated once dry-out occurred.


1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 740-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. Ma ◽  
G. P. Peterson

An experimental investigation was conducted and a test facility constructed to measure the capillary heat transport limit in small triangular grooves, similar to those used in micro heat pipes. Using methanol as the working fluid, the maximum heat transport and unit effective area heat transport were experimentally determined for ten grooved plates with varying groove widths, but identical apex angles. The experimental results indicate that there exists an optimum groove configuration, which maximizes the capillary pumping capacity while minimizing the combined effects of the capillary pumping pressure and the liquid viscous pressure losses. When compared with a previously developed analytical model, the experimental results indicate that the model can be used accurately to predict the heat transport capacity and maximum unit area heat transport when given the physical characteristics of the working fluid and the groove geometry, provided the proper heat flux distribution is known. The results of this investigation will assist in the development of micro heat pipes capable of operating at increased power levels with greater reliability.


Volume 4 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Larsen ◽  
M. Cerza ◽  
A. N. Smith ◽  
C. Thomas Conroy

As microprocessors shrink in size and increase in power dissipation levels, the current need for advanced electronics cooling techniques is paramount since power dissipation levels are rapidly exceeding the capabilities of forced air convection cooling. This paper reports an investigation of using a capillary assisted thermosyphon for the shipboard cooling of electronics components. The capillary assisted thermosyphon differs from the capillary pumped loop or loop heat pipe system in that the basic cooling loop is based on a thermosyphon. The capillary assist comes from the fact that there is a wicking structure in the flat evaporator plate, however, the wicking structure is there to spread the working fluid across the flat plate evaporator in the areas under the heat sources. This differs from a capillary pumped loop in that the wick structure does not produce a capillary pumping head from the liquid return to the vapor outlet side of the evaporator. In fact, the liquid return and vapor outlet are almost at the same pressure. The forced circulation in the thermosyphon is caused by a gravity head between the condenser cold plate and the flat plate evaporator. An experimental facility for conducting research on capillary assisted thermosyphon was developed. In order to simulate the shipboard cooling water encountered at various locations of the ocean, the heat sink temperature of the facility could be varied. A vertical flat plate, CAT evaporator was designed and tested under thermal sink temperatures of 4, 21 and 37°C. The condenser cold plate cooling water flow rate varied from 0.38 to 3 GPM. The heat input varied from 250 to 1500 W evenly spread over the area of the evaporator. The CAT flat plate evaporator performed very well under this range of heat inputs, sink temperatures, and cold plate flow rates. The main result obtained showed that as heat input increased the amount of subcooling between the evaporator vapor outlet line and liquid return line increased. This subcooling did not hinder thermal performance as measured by the internal operating temperature.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Moulod ◽  
Gisuk Hwang

A heat pipe has been known as a thermal superconductor utilizing a liquid-vapor phase change, and it has drawn significant attentions for advanced thermal management systems. However, a challenge is the size limitation, i.e., the heat pipe cannot be smaller than the evaporator/condenser wick structures, typically an order of micron, and a new operating mechanism is required to meet the needs for the nanoscale thermal management systems. In this study, we design the nanoscale heat pipe employing the gas-filled nanostructure, while transferring heat via ballistic fluid-particle motions with a possible returning working fluid via surface diffusions along the nanostructure. The enhanced heat flux for the nano heat pipe is demonstrated using the nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations (NEMDS) for the argon gas confined by the 20 nm-long Pt nanogap with a post wall with the temperature difference between the hot and cold surfaces of 20 K. The predicted results show that the maximum heat flux through the gas-filled nanostructure (heat pipe) nearly doubles that of the nanogap without the post wall at 100 < T < 140 K. The optimal operating conditions/material selections are discussed. The results for the nanogap agree with those obtained from the kinetic theory, and provide insights into the design of advanced thermal management systems.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 879-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rathinasamy Senthilkumar ◽  
Subaiah Vaidyanathan ◽  
Sivaramanb Balasubramanian

This paper discuses the use of self rewetting fluids in the heat pipe. In conventional heat pipes, the working fluid used has a negative surface-tension gradient with temperature. It is an unfavourable one and it decreases the heat transport between the evaporator section and the condenser section. Self rewetting fluids are dilute aqueous alcoholic solutions which have the number of carbon atoms more than four. Unlike other common liquids, self-rewetting fluids have the property that the surface tension increases with temperature up to a certain limit. The experiments are conducted to improve the heat-transport capability and thermal efficiency of capillary assisted heat pipes with the self rewetting fluids like aqueous solutions of n-Butanol and n-Pentanol and its performance is compared with that of pure water. The n-Butanol and n-Pentanol are added to the pure water at a concentration of 0.001moles/lit to prepare the self rewetting fluids. The heat pipes are made up of copper container with a two-layered stainless steel wick consisting of mesh wrapped screen. The experimental results show that the maximum heat transport of the heat pipe is enhanced and the thermal resistances are considerably decreased than the traditional heat pipes filled with water. The fluids used exhibit an anomalous increase in the surface tension with increasing temperature.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaxiong Wang ◽  
G. P. Peterson

A novel flat heat pipe has been developed to assist in meeting the high thermal design requirements in high power microelectronics, power converting systems, laptop computers and spacecraft thermal control systems. Two different prototypes, each measuring 152.4 mm by 25.4 mm were constructed and evaluated experimentally. Sintered copper screen mesh was used as the primary wicking structure, in conjunction with a series of parallel wires, which formed liquid arteries. Water was selected as the working fluid. Both experimental and analytical investigations were conducted to examine the maximum heat transport capacity and optimize the design parameters of this particular design. The experimental results indicated that the maximum heat transport capacity and heat flux for Prototype 1, which utilized four layers of 100 mesh screen were 112 W and 17.4W/cm2, respectively, in the horizontal position. For Prototype 2, which utilized six layers of 150 mesh screen, these values were 123 W and 19.1W/cm2, respectively. The experimental results were in good agreement with the theoretical predictions for a mesh compact coefficient of C=1.15.


2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. McDaniels ◽  
G. P. “Bud” Peterson

Abstract In response to the space industry’s pursuit of interplanetary travel and a continuous human presence in space, there is increasing focus on spacecraft that change configuration while in space. Flexible thermal radiators are being developed to accommodate various collapse and deployment mechanisms. An analytical model suggests that a lightweight polymeric material with imbedded micro heat pipe arrays can meet heat dissipation requirements while contributing less mass than competing flexible materials. The capillary pumping limit is evaluated as a function of operating temperature using two candidate working fluids. Using water, the maximum heat transport is 18 mW per channel at 140/160 °C. The maximum heat transport using methanol is 2.2 mW at 120 °C, an order-of magnitude difference. A thermal circuit model translates heat transport per channel into total radiator capacity as a function of source temperature and environmental sink temperature. Using water as the working fluid, the radiator capacity was shown to vary from 6.0 kW to 12.2 kW for source temperatures of 20 °C to 50 °C. For source temperatures of 40 °C and higher, the capacity meets or exceeds the dissipation requirements of a reference spacecraft design. While evaluated, methanol is not recommended as a working fluid because its radiator capacity is two to three times lower than water. Although thermal system constraints place limits on the micro heat pipe operating range, design changes directed at alleviating capillary limitations should increase radiator capacity. Technical issues for further study include effects of film billowing, performance limitations related to vapor viscosity, working fluid diffusion, and chemical reactivity between case and working fluid. Compared to a competing graphite fiber weave, the polymeric material has an effective conductivity over ten times higher. Its area power density (in kW/m2) is 18% to 60% lower than the graphite weave, but its mass power density (in kW/kg) is several times higher. Greater flexibility and lower weight also make it more amenable to structural integration. Recently developed space-stable polymers offer resistance to harsh temperature and radiation environments, helping to clear the path toward a more extensive use of polymers within the space industry.


Author(s):  
Akshat Negi ◽  
Aniket M. Rishi ◽  
Satish G. Kandlikar

Abstract Boiling heat transfer is extensively used in various industrial applications to efficiently dissipate a large amount of heat by maintaining lower surface temperatures. The maximum heat flux dissipated during boiling is limited by the critical heat flux (CHF) and limited visualization of the boiling surface limits the identification of the impending CHF condition to rely on temperature monitoring alone. The study presented here focuses on developing a method for analyzing and identifying acoustic signatures throughout the nucleate boiling regimes that are indicative of the boiling state of the heater surface. The bubble nucleation and coalescence along with bubble collapse at the liquid-vapor interface leads to variation in acoustic emission patterns during boiling. These sound waves are studied and acoustic signatures that are representative of the impending CHF are identified over plain and enhanced copper substrates with water as the working fluid. During pool boiling study, it was observed that sound was dominant in two frequency regions (400–500 Hz dominant throughout nucleate boiling and 100–200 Hz dominant at heat fluxes &gt; 100 W/cm2). However, just before CHF, a sudden drop in amplitude was observed in the high frequency region (400–500 Hz), while the amplitude in low frequency region (100–200 Hz) continued to rise. It was concluded that this acoustic study can be used as a tool to predict the approaching CHF condition.


Author(s):  
Ladan Amouzegar ◽  
Ivan Catton ◽  
Aleksander Vadnjal

In the past researchers noted three distinct stages of evaporative heat transfer in a bi-porous wick. The maximum heat transfer rate is postulated to occur at the end of the second stage when the maximum number of small pores interfaces the vapor space. For optimization purposes a reliable model that relates the maximum heat flux of a bi-porous wick to the wick material properties, wick geometry given with average large and small pore diameter, wick thickness, and working fluid properties is demanded. In this work, a semi-empirical model that relates the heat flux at the capillary limit to the wick material properties, working fluid properties and wick dimensions is further developed. The model is based on the hydrodynamics of the capillary limit. The result is employed to qualitatively and quantitatively optimize the wick parameters for some specific cases and the optimization can be further performed using the proposed model.


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