International Conference on recent innovations in engineering & technology

Design and Modeling of Heat Pipe

Prof.V.V.Ankolekar vinay.ankolekar@gm
Assistant Professor ail.com
TSSM’s BSCOER
Narhe Pune

ABSTRACT size of a porous wick or using smaller liquid grooves, the

axial liquid pressure drop also quickly increases. As a result,
Heat pipe is enclosed two phase heat transfer devices. They there is a constraint on the capillary structure size to avoid the
make use of the highly efficient thermal transport process of well-known capillary limitation or dry-out [1].
evaporation and condensation to maximize the thermal
conductance between a heat source and a heat sink. They are Heat pipes are being used as standard tools in a wide variety
proven to be very effective, low cost and reliable heat transfer of heat transfer related applications where efficient and
devices for applications in many thermal management and reliable heat removal is needed. The interest in heat pipe
heat recovery systems. The heat pipe is having great technology remains strong mainly due to the continuing
importance in variety of fields now. Although there are miniaturization of electronics systems. As a result of the
number of parameters which affect the performance of heat strong interest in heat pipe technology and its applications,
pipe we have taken into consideration the wick structure. Here several analytical and numerical analyses are being developed
within the paper we have designed the pipe for axial groove by many investigators. A number of articles presenting
wick type structure models of varying complexity have been published. The
models range from one-dimensional steady-state analytical
\Keywords solutions to more comprehensive three-dimensional numerical
methods. Although the simple and one dimensional models
Thermal conductivity, Thermal resistance, Microgravity. provide valuable information, they cannot adequately predict
many of the complex phenomena taking place in a heat pipe.
The commonly used simplifications in more detailed models
include axi-symmetric, constant vapour temperature in the
Nomenclature vapour space and steady-state conditions. These models
certainly provide more insight; however, several limitations
A Cross sectional area of wick still exist as a result of some of the simplifying assumptions.
Cpb Specific heat of base fluid The most relevant analytical and numerical works carried out
Cpn Specific heat of nano fluid from 1964 to 1990 are reviewed in detail in Chen and Faghri.
Fl Flow loss factor [2]
Kb Thermal conductivity of base fluid
Kn Thermal conductivity of nano fluid
L Length of the pipe
Nb Merit number of base fluid
Ng Groove flow factor
Nl Merit number of nano fluid
Nmin Minimun number of grooves
Ρb Density of base fluid
Ρn Density of nano fluid
W Width of groove
Wp Wetted perimeter
σ Surface tension of nano fluid
λ Latent het of nano fluid
φ Concentration of nano fluid
μ Viscosity

Fig.1 Heat Pipe

1. INTRODUCTION
Heat pipes have been widely used in ground and space
applications where efficient and reliable thermal control is
required. The heat transferred by a heat pipe is limited mainly
by the available capillary pumping pressure across the liquid–
vapour interface. Although the capillary pressure can be
increased by increasing the meniscus curvature of the
capillary structure, for example decreasing the effective pore
Heat pipe working rapid progress in microelectronics
technology brings about sharply increasing integration of
microprocessor-chips, which leads to the dramatic increase of
power consumption for unit volume chip causing a fatal
problem of high heat flux. Power consumption and heat
dissipation, which were seldom attached importance to, have
been the bottleneck for microelectronics development. If the
heat consumed in electronic components cannot be dissipated
in time, it will be accumulated continuously causing rapid
temperature rise in chips and sharp decline in reliability and

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 International Conference on recent innovations in engineering & technology
higher heat transfer capacity, lower thermal resistance and
smaller structural dimension etc.), and copper’s good heat
conductivity, copper-based micro heat pipes are widely used
in such electronic components as microprocessors in laptops
and desktops. So the higher requirements on heat dissipation
make it increasingly necessary to study micro heat pipes. [3]
Heat pipe has great importance now days from last several
years as it is more effective than any other conventional heat
transfer device. The subject of heat pipe science has immense
importance in a large variety of traditional engineering
disciplines. The sub-discipline of heat pipe science has its
foundation in several classical fields, such as fluid mechanics,
heat transfer, thermodynamics and solid mechanics. Heat pipe
science also provides an opportunity for scientists and
engineers to apply a variety of complex physical phenomena
and fundamental laws in the thermal-fluids area to a relatively
simple system, such as the heat pipe. This includes the steady
and unsteady forced laminar and turbulent convective heat
and mass transfer, compressible vapor effects, phase-change
phenomena, boiling, condensation/evaporation, two-phase
flow, rotating flows, thin film flows, liquid flow in porous
media, rarefied gases, interfacial heat and mass transfer,
magneto hydrodynamic flows, and conjugate heat transfer
effects [4].
Guo-yan Zhou &Ling-Yun Zhu,et al. [2014] has been done
his work on , “Prediction of temperature distribution in shell-
and-tube heat exchangers”. On the basis of on the basis of the
differential theory, an accurate and simplified model for
predicting temperature distribution in the shell-and-tube heat
exchanger is proposed. It indicates that the prediction of the
temperature distribution by the new model agrees reasonably
well with that by HTRI method. [3]
Sandeep K. Patel, Professor Alkesh M. Mavaniet et. al. [2012]
has been done his work on, “shell & tube heat exchanger
thermal design with optimization of mass flow rate and baffle
spacing”. General design considerations and design procedure
are also illustrated in this paper. In design calculation HTRI
software is used to verify manually calculated result. [4]
2. HISTORY
In 1944, Gaugler patented a lightweight heat transfer device
which was essentially the present heat pipe. However, the
technology of that period presented no clear need for such a
device and it lay dormant for two decades. The idea was
resurrected in connection with the space program, first as a
suggestion by Trefethen in 1962 and then in the form of a
patent application by Wyatt in 1963. It was not until Grover
and his co-workers of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
independently invented the concept in 1963 and built
prototypes that the impetus was provided to this technology.
Grover also coined the name "heat pipe" and stated, with
certain limitations on the manner of use, a heat pipe may be
regarded as a synergistic engineering structure which is
equivalent to a material having a thermal conductivity greatly
exceeding that of any known metal. The first heat pipe which
Grover built used water as the working fluid and was followed
shortly by a sodium heat pipe which operated at 1100°K. Both
the high temperature and ambient temperature regimes were
soon explored by many workers in the field. It was not until
l966 that the first cryogenic heat pipe was developed by
Haskin of the Air Force Flight Dynamic Laboratory at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The concept of a Variable
Conductance or Temperature Controlled Heat Pipe was first
described by Hall of RCA in a patent application dated
October 1964. However, although the effect of a non-
condensing gas was shown in Grover's original publication, its
significance for achieving variable conductance was not
immediately recognized. In subsequent years the theory and
technology of gas controlled variable conductance heat pipes
was greatly advanced, notably by Bienert and Brennan at
Dyn_therm and Marcus at 4 TRW. On April 5, 1967, the first
"O-g" demonstration of a heat pipe was conducted by a group
of engineers of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. This
first successful flight experiment overcame the initial
hesitation that many spacecraft designers had for using this
new technology to solve the ever-present temperature control
problems on spacecraft.
3. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF HEAT
PIPE
A heat pipe is a closed evaporator-condenser system
consisting of a sealed, hollow tube whose inside walls are
lined with a capillary structure or wick. Thermodynamic
working fluid, with substantial vapor pressure at the desired
operating temperature, saturates the pores of the wick in a
state of equilibrium between liquid and vapor. When heat is
applied to the heat pipe, the liquid in the wick heats and
evaporates. As the evaporating fluid fills the heat pipe hollow
center, it diffuses throughout its length. Condensation of the
vapor occurs wherever the temperature is even slightly below
that of the evaporation area. As it condenses, the vapor gives
up the heat it acquired during evaporation. This effective high
thermal conductance helps maintain near constant
temperatures along the entire length of the pipe. Attaching a
heat sink to a portion of the heat pipe makes condensation
take place at this point of heat transfer and establishes a vapor
flow pattern. Capillary action within the wick returns the
condensate to the evaporator (heat source) and completes the
operating cycle. This system, proven in aerospace
applications, transmits thermal energy at rates hundreds of
times greater and with a far superior energy-to-weight ratio
than can be gained from the most efficient solid conductor.
3.1 Working fluid selection
The choice of working fluid depends on a number of
considerations including working pressure, fluid properties as
they affect the capillary pumping limit and other performance
limits, thermal conductivity, compatibility with the wick and
container material, and stability at elevated temperatures.
Furthermore, Nano fluid (Aluminum Oxide) is compatible
with copper which is a weight effective material. Finally,
Nano fluid (Aluminum Oxide) has a high thermal
conductivity which can be an important factor with respect to
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 International Conference on recent innovations in engineering & technology

the 6°C maximum allowable temperature drop. In our case we 4.1 Calculation of nano fluid properties
are going to use Nano fluid (Aluminum Oxide with water as a
base fluid with 2% concentration of water). We are using this
(Al2O3)
working fluid since it does illustrate pressure containment
1) Merit number of nano fluid
above the critical point which is a typical problem in the
design of many heat pipes. N = (ρσλ)/μn
= 2.87*1011Kg/s3

2) Density
3.2 Wick selection
ρn = (1-φ)ρb + φρp _________________________ (1)
_

Three basic wick designs could be considered to meet the = 1048.326Kg/m3

performance requirements homogeneous wire mesh screen,
3) Specific heat
composite wire mesh screen, and axial grooves. Finally, the
axially grooved design offers large open flow channels which Cpn = {(1-φ) ρbCpb + φρpCpp}/{(1-φ) ρb + φρp}__ (2)
are sensitive to gravity. = 3.9658KJ/KgK

4) Viscosity
μn = (μb)/( 1-φ)2.5 (3)
= 1.0518*10-3 N-s/m2

5) Thermal conductivity
Kn = {(Kp + 2Kb) + 2φ(Kp – Kb)}/ {(Kp + 2Kb) –φ(Kp – Kb)}

(4)
= 1.0583W/mK

4.2 Wick Calculation

1) Groove flow Factor
Ng = 0.87 * (A/W2)3.1 * (W/Wp)2 * w3
= 7.1878*10-11 m3
Fig.2 Groove effect

Heat pipes have been widely used in ground and space 2) Number of grooves
applications where efficient and reliable thermal control is
Nmin = {(QL)max}/{Ng(1+n) FlNl }
required. The heat transferred by a heat pipe is limited mainly
by the available capillary pumping pressure across the liquid– = 35
vapour interface. Although the capillary pressure can be
increased by increasing the meniscus curvature of the
capillary structure, for example decreasing the effective pore 4.3 Dimensions of Heat Pipe
size of a porous wick or using smaller liquid grooves, the
axial liquid pressure drop also quickly increases. As a result,
there is a constraint on the capillary structure size to avoid the 1) Length of total pipe = 500 mm
well-known capillary limitation or dry-out. To remedy this 2) Length of condenser section = 40 mm
problem, several alternative design solutions have been 3) Length of evaporator section = 40 mm
proposed such as arterial heat pipes (ArHP) and loop heat
4) Outer Diameter = 15 mm
pipes (LHP). An ArHP uses a liquid artery as opposed to a
large number of grooves in an axially grooved heat pipe 5) Inner diameter = 13 mm
(AGHP). Thus, the pressure drop can be minimized. Different 6) Groove Depth = 1.2444 mm
ArHP capillary structures have been proposed in the past.
However, these developments were mostly abandoned as a
result of series of failures during the space flight experiments.
The main problem was the presence of excess vapour within
the liquid artery, leading to start up difficulties and dry-out.

4. DESIGN OF HEAT PIPE 4.4 Modeling of Heat Pipe

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 International Conference on recent innovations in engineering & technology
The modeling of Heat pipe is done in CATIA software.
Fig. 3 CATIA model of Heat Pipe
5. CONCLUSION
Compatibility of material for particular groove type is
different. The combination of container material and wick
material is different for every wick structure. We have used
the combination of copper material with different grades.
Type of groove affects the thermal conductivity. Axial
grooves show better performance.
REFERENCES
[1] Tarik Kaya, Michel Garcia, 2008. “Comparative
investigation of operational performance characteristics of
axially grooved and arterial heat pipes” Springer-Verlag.
[2] Amir Faghri, 2014. “Heat Pipes: Review, Opportunities
And Challenges” Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, U.S.A.
[3] David Reay & Peter Kew, 2006. “Heat Pipes-Design,
Theory & Applications”, UK.
[4] Patrick J. Brennan and Edward J. Kroliczek, 1997. “Heat
Pipe Design Handbook”,Volume-1, Greenbelt Meryland,
USA.
[5] Brost, O., Groll, M., and Mack, H., 1990, "High
Temperature Lithium Heat Pipe Furnace for Space
Applications," Proceedings of the 7th International Heat Pipe
Conference, Minsk, USSR.
[6] Anderson, W. G., and Tarau, C., 2008, "Variable
conductance heat pipes for radioisotope stirling systems,"
Proceedings of STAIF 2008.
[7] Cao, Y., and Faghri, A., 1994a, "Micro/Miniature Heat
Pipes and Operating Limitations," Journal of Enhanced Heat
Transfer.
[8] Cao, Y., and Faghri, A., 1994b, "Analytical Solutions of
Flow and Heat Transfer in a Porous Structure with Partial
Heating and Evaporation on the Upper Surface," International
Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer.