A STUDY OF HEAT TRANSFER IN HEAT PIPE EVAPORATORS WITH METAL FIBER CAPILLARY STRUCTURES

摘要

This paper reports a detailed investigation into the influence of the structural and hydrodynamic characteristics of metal fiber capillary structures (CS) when such materials are used in the construction of heat pipe and thermosyphon evaporators. The study investigates parameters such as the heat transfer coefficient « and the critical heat flux for these materials when operating under conditions corresponding to those encountered in heat evaporators. This research has been performed using dedicated experimental equipment simulating the operating conditions of heat pipes and thermosyphons upon boiling of representative working liquids such as distilled water and acetone. A wide range of characteristics have been investigated for metal capillary structures produced from copper and stainless steel fibers: range of CS porosity Θ = 40% to 90%; range of CS thickness δ = 0.2 mm to 10.0 mm; CS skeleton thermal conductivity range λ = 0.1 W/(m · K) to 70.0 W/(m ·K).