International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Volume 116 No. 14 2017, 379-385

ISSN: 1311-8080 (printed version); ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version)
url: http://www.ijpam.eu
Special Issue
ijpam.eu

EFFECT OF DIAMETER IN HEAT PIPE PERFORMANCE USING COPPER CONTAINER

R.Hariprasanth1, R.Hariharan 2
1
UG Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
BIST, Bharath University, BIHER, Chennai-73.
2
Asst.Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
BIST, Bharath University, BIHER, Chennai-73.
2
hariharan.mech@bharathuniv.ac.in

Abstract: The heat pipe is a simple device that can
quickly transfer heat from one point to another point.
The performance of a heat transfer rate in heat pipe is
good with very low heat input. Experimental study
was carried out for optimizing the fluid inventory in a
heat pipe. A heat pipe with 15 mm, 20mm and 25mm
inner diameter, 600 mm length using copper metal
screens with stainless steel wick was constructed
tested with variable filling ratio of distillation water
as working fluid for different thermal loads to assess
the performance of heat pipe. The amount of
distillation water was varied depending on the
relationship proposed in the present work.
Experiments are conducted using heat pipe at various
inclination angle, heat input with different flow rate.
The thermal resistance, thermal efficiency overall
heat transfer coefficients are computed and that
values are optimized by the Response Surface
Methodology (RSM)[1-7].
1. Introduction
Background
“A heat pipe is an evaporative- condensation device
for transferring heat in which latent heat of
vaporization is exploited to transport heat over long
distances with a corresponding small temperature
gradient. The heat transport is realized by means of
evaporating a liquid in the heat inlet region (called the
evaporator) and subsequently condensing the vapour
in a heat rejection region (called the condenser).
Closed circulation of the working fluid is maintained
by capillary action and/ or bulk forces. The heat pipe
was originally invented by Gaugler of the General
Motors Corporation in 1944, but did not truly garner
any significant attention within the heat transfer
community until the space program resurrected the
concept in the early 1960’s. Early development of
terrestrial applications of heat pipes proceeded
slowly; however due to the high cost of energy, the
industrial community has begun to appreciate the
significance of heat pipes in energy savings and
design improvements in various applications. Most
recently, with heat density of electronic components
continually increasing, there is a growing interest in
using heat pipes for transferring and spreading heat in
conjunction with cooling these components.[8-12]
Description of the present work
Venting/ Charging Processes And Screen Mesh Wick
Fill Calculations
One area which is addressed would be the fluid
charge for screen mesh heat pipes. Whilst reviewing
existing literature as well as preliminary test results, it
was found that the calculation of the amount of working
fluid for screen mesh heat pipes as well as failure modes
during the venting or charging process (despite their
paramount importance on the overall heat pipe
performance) have largely been neglected. This work
was seen as too significant in terms of the impact on the
aim to investigate the effects of bends on screen mesh
wick heat pipes to remain unsolved. Therefore, as a first
step calculation software has been developed which
allows the calculation of the fluid charge for screen mesh
heat pipes whilst being able to compensate for venting
losses and cater for different venting temperatures which
influence the amount of fluid charge required inside the
heat pipe.[16-20] However the software did not only
compensate for losses and process temperature
differences, it also allowed the calculation of the fluid
charge for each heat pipe type based on the screen wick
parameters. It indicated that significant improvements
could be made over previous methods using tables and
the amount of experimentation and time for proving
certain fill levels has been reduced to a great degree, as
well as improving the first time process yield. Based on
the new calculation software
the design process for screen mesh wick heat pipes could
be accelerated and made more precise.
Investigations of Performance Issues based on Screen
Mesh Wick Geometries
Most people within the heat pipe community still
believe that screen mesh heat pipes cannot be used for
applications where gravitational support or at least

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International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
horizontal operation can be ensured. An investigation
into a mathematical model for the capillary or lifting
height is presented and from there it can be shown
that screen mesh heat pipes can be used for
applications that do not depend on the gravitational
support. The mathematical model also indicates the
actual limitations of the screen mesh wick heat pipe.
Apart from the experimental validation, additional
literature resources have been used as a background
source to discuss novel aspects to the statement and
support the two different opinions prior to conducting
the practical experimentations.
Bent Heat Pipe Performance Trials
The developed fill calculation software was
used for the manufacturing of the bending test
samples. These samples were then used to conduct
research into the field of heat pipe bending. Whilst
bends occur in most industrial heat pipe applications,
they have been neglected by the scientific
community. Only one source (Quick Cool Heat
Transfer GmbH, 2008) was found stating that bends
in heat pipes do have negative effects on
performance. In order to investigate the effects of
bends on the overall heat pipe performance, detailed
experimentation investigating multiple bend angles
has been carried out. Based on the results, an equation
for the performance losses has been derived and can
now be used to assess the performance losses of heat
pipes of a similar type but with different bend angles.
The use of this performance reduction equation,
whilst linked to the straight heat pipe performance
allows adjustments to heat pipe designs accordingly
and avoids the risk of prototype failure in the
application. This does not only help to reduce costs
during the development process of heat pipe based
cooling solutions, but it further reduces the time for
the development of such solutions[21-24].
Multiple Freeze Thaw Cycling of Screen Mesh Heat
Pipes
Furthermore, the developed software also
gave the capability of solving freeze thaw issues of
screen mesh wick heat pipes where destructive
mechanisms linked to excess working fluid caused the
heat pipe container to change its shape and created a
risk of losing the vacuum inside the heat pipe through
mechanical breakage. For the visualisation of the
freeze thaw related phenomena, X-ray imaging
technology was used and presented a novel way of
showing the phenomena occurring inside the heat
pipes. Being able to resolve these issues and avoid
these phenomena allows the successful application of
screen mesh heat pipes into areas which previously
would have required a different type of heat pipe or
technology altogether.
In this work, heat pipe of copper container
with stainless steel wick material and DI water as well
as copper DI as working fluids have been analyzed.
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Special Issue
Wrapped screen wick structure with two layers of 60
mesh size was used in the heat pipe. The experiments
were conducted for various heat inputs (40, 50 and 60W)
and for various inclinations of heat pipe to the horizontal
(15o, 30o and 45o). The flow rate of water in condenser
section is kept at constant (0.06, 0.08 and 0.10 kg/min).
Fundamental working principles of heat pipes
The operation of a heat pipe is easily understood by
using a cylindrical geometry.The components of a heat
pipe are a sealed container (pipe wall and end caps), a
wick structure, and a small amount of working fluid
which is in equilibrium with its own vapour. The length
of the heat pipe is divided into three parts: evaporator
section adiabatic (transport) section and condenser
section. A heat pipe may have multiple heat sources or
sinks with or without adiabatic section depending on
specific application and design. Heat applied to the
evaporator section by an external source is conducted
through the pipe and wick structure, where it vapourizes
the working fluid. The resulting vapour pressure drives
the vapour through the adiabatic section to the
condenser, where the vapour condenses, releasing its
latent heat of vapourization to the provided heat sink.
The capillary pressure created by the menisci in the wick
pumps the condenser fluid back to the evaporator
section. Therefore, the heat pipe can continuously
transport the latent heat of vapourization from the
evaporator to the condenser section. This process will
continue as long as there is a sufficient capillary pressure
to drive the condensate back to the evaporator[25-27].
Figure 1. Working of Heat pipe
The menisci at the liquid-vapour interface are
highly curved in the evaporator section due to the fact
that the liquid recedes into the pores of the wick. On the
other hand, during the condensation process the menisci
in the condenser section are nearly flat. A capillary
pressure exists at the liquid-vapour interface due to the
surface tension of the working fluid and the curved
structure of the interface. The difference in the curvature
of the menisci along the liquid-vapour interface causes
the capillary pressure to change along the pipe. This
capillary pressure gradient circulates the fluid against the
International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue

liquid and vapour pressure losses, and adverse body from one place to another without any external work.
forces such as gravity[28-30]. This reduces the cost of the equipment.
In this work, the heat pipes are
fabricated and tested under different diameters, angle of
inclinations, flow rates and different heat inputs. [20-25]
The computed values of the thermal efficiency,
thermal resistance and overall heat transfer coefficient
are entered in the software design matrix. The response
surface methodology is used to develop the empirical
relationship between the experimental variables and the
responses that are thermal efficiency. A regression
analysis is carried out to develop a best fit the model to
the experimental data, which are used to generate
response surface plots. The table 6.1 shows that the
design matrix. The table 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 shows the
Figure 2(a). Liquid - vapour interface analysis of variance (ANOVA) for thermal efficiency,
thermal resistance and overall heat transfer coefficient.
Components of heat pipe The values of “Prob>F” less than 0.05 indicates model
There are three basic components of a heat terms are significant. For the present case heat pipe
pipe are: diameter (A), heat input (B), angle of inclination (C) and
(i) The working fluid flow rate of water in the condenser (D). The predicted
(ii) The container equations for thermal efficiency, thermal resistance and
(iii) The wick or capillary structure overall heat transfer coefficient of the heat pipe are given
below.
2. Experimental Design Thermal Efficiency = -255.24925 + 20.44637 *
RSM is an efficient statistical tool for optimization of Diameter + 2.72042 * Heat Input + 0.066922 * Angle
multiple variables. In order to describe the response of Inclination + 60.96667 * FlowRate - 0.022050 *
surfaces, a three level, four-variable Box Behnken Diameter * Heat Input + 0.030500 * Diameter * Angle of
design was adopted in this study. The four Inclination + 5.35000 * Diameter * Flow Rate - 4.00000
independent variables and their levels for the 29 E-004 * Heat Input * AngleofInclination - 7.01250 *
experiments in the Box Behnken study are shown in Heat Input * Flow Rate + 0.51667 * Angle of Inclination
Table 1. Four input parameters like diameter (A), * Flow Rate - 0.51360 Diameter2 -0.012599 * HeatInput2
heat input (B), angle of inclination (C) and flow rate - 8.70519E-003 * Angle of Inclination2 + 1165.83333 *
of water in the condenser (D) over the output Flow Rate2
response of thermal efficiency of the heat pipe, Thermal Resistance = 15.82459 - 1.11684 *
thermal resistance of the heat pipe and overall heat Diameter - 0.063351 * Heat Input - 0.023775 * Angle of
transfer coefficient of the heat pipe. Inclination + 4.09258 * Flow Rate + 1.83500E-004 *
Diameter * Heat Input + 1.06200E-003 * Diameter *
Table 1. Process Parameters Angle of Inclination - 0.86000 * Diameter * Flow Rate -
Level 2.77778E-006 * Heat Input * Angle of Inclination +
Parameter
-1 0 +1 0.12375 * Heat Input * Flow Rate + 0.10708 * Angle of
Inclination * Flow Rate + 0.026334 * Diameter2 +
Diameter, mm 15 20 25 3.08425E-004 * Heat Input2 - 1.31233E-004 * Angle of
Inclination2 + 8.57500 * Flow Rate2.
Heat Input, W 40 50 60 Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient = -5979.76350
Angle of + 757.12634 * Diameter + 41.85151* Heat Input +
Inclination, deg 15 30 45 15.51961 * Angle of Inclination - 10472.78938 * Flow
Flow Rate, Rate - 0.33177 * Diameter * Heat Input - 0.85321 *
kg/min 0.06 0.08 0.10 Diameter * Angle of Inclination + 792.74021* Diameter
* Flow Rate + 0.17355 * Heat Input * Angle of
Inclination - 72.48154 * Heat Input * Flow Rate -
Design matrix 181.47229 * Angle of Inclination * Flow Rate -
21.90103 * Diameter2 - 0.070539 * Heat Input2 + 0.17656
Heat pipes are found their applications from * Angle of Inclination2 + 40794.25098 * Flow Rate2.
domestic appliance to space craft industries. No
external power is required i.e. the uses of compressor,
motors are not required. Hence heat is transported

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International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue

Figure 4. Variations of experimental and predicted values

of overall heat transfer coefficient

The working fluid in this analysis is De-Ionized

De water.
Fig 5
show that the variation of heat pipe thermal efficiency
with heat pipe container diameter, heat input
i to the
evaporator section, angle of inclination and flow rate of
water in the condenser

Figure 5. Effect of diameter and heat input on thermal

efficiency
The thermal resistance (R) of the heat pipe is
defined as ratio of the temperature difference between
the evaporator and the condenser to the heat supplied in
the evaporator.[26] From the figures 6, it is clear that the
thermal resistance of heat pipe decreases with increase
with the heat input and inclination angle of the heat pipe.
The thermal resistance
esistance value is minimum at higher heat
input and that value is minimum at 15o to 30o inclination
of the heat pipe. The thermal resistances condense
quickly to its minimum value when the heat load is
increased for all conditions.

Figure 2(b). Vapour and Liquid pressure distribution

Figures 3 are normal plot of residuals for thermal

efficiency, thermal resistance and overall heat transfer
coefficient respectively. Figures 4 are variations of
experimental and predicted values for thermal
efficiency, thermal resistance and overall heat transfer
coefficient respectively.

Figure 6. Effect of diameter

iameter and heat input on thermal
resistance

Fig 7 shows that the variation of overall heat

transfer coefficient (U) with diameter, heat input, angle
Figure 3. Normal plot of residuals for thermal
of inclination and flow rates. The value of U increases
efficiency

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International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
with heat input due to higher transfer at the
evaporator
aporator section. Increasing the value of angle of
inclination the heat transfer coefficient increases, it
will be maximum at the angle of 45o. The optimum
value of diameter is 20 mm.
Figure 7. Effect of diameter and angle of inclination
on overall heat transfer coefficient
3. Conclusion
The experiments on the heat pipe are
conducted based on the response surface
methodology. The figure 10 shows the optimization
plot generated by the RSM with a desirability of
0.999. It shows that the optimum value of the thermal
efficiency is 41.886%, thermal resistance is 1.14167
K/W and overall heat transfer coefficient is 2718.13
W/m2K. When the diameter 20 mm, heat input 60 W,
at 44.52o inclination, and flow rate 0.06 kg/min. In
order to confirm the optimization zation result the
experiment is conducted with 60 W heat input at 45o
inclination of the heat pipe with flow rate o f0.06
kg/min in a 20 mm heat pipe diameter. The thermal
efficiency of the heat pipe is found as 42.12%,
thermal resistance as 1.1345 K/W and overall heat
transfer coefficient is 2752.34 W/m2K which is nearer
to the optimum value.
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Special Issue
Figure 8. Optimization plot
From the experimental results the following
points are arrived.Heat pipe performance depends on the
heat pipe diameter, angle of inclination, heat input and
flow rate. The effect of flow rate is less importance than
other three.
The proposed model will be useful to predict the thermal
efficiency of heat pipe with an error of ±1 %.The heat
pipes are ability to transfer more amount of heat with
very small temperature difference between the source
and the sink. The RSM is effective tool to optimize the
heat pipe operating parameters.
The wick temperatures at adiabatic regime are
almost uniformm for all the experiments.The heat transfer
coefficient in the condenser section is high when the
flow rate of cooling fluid is low. The variation of super
heat temperature is almost linear irrespective of heat
input, angle of inclination and flow rate of cooling
medium.
The trial results reveal that the heat pipe
efficiency gets reduced when the heat pipe is kept in
vertical direction. The gravitational forces which assist
the flow of working fluid back to the evaporator may
accelerate the process which may y hinder the heat transfer
process at the condenser end and the fluid might have
returned to the evaporator section with higher
temperature end.
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