Heat Transfer Characteristics of an ABS Polymer Pulsating Heat Pipe Fabricated by a 3-D Printer

摘要

This paper describes experimental investigations on heat transfer characteristics of a pulsating heat pipe (PHP) fabricated by a 3-D printer. A transparent ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) filament was used as a printing material. Three types of PHPs were fabricated by changing a cross-sectional area of a serpentine channel. HFE (Hydro-Fluoro-Ether)-7100 was employed as a working fluid, and its filling ratio was 50% of a total volume of the serpentine channel. In experiments, an evaporator section of the PHP was heated by a heater and a condenser section was water-cooled using a cooling jacket. Pulsating phenomena of the working fluid were observed through a transparent PHP wall. Temperatures at the evaporator, the adiabatic and the condenser section of the PHP were measured by T-type thermocouples. The heat input was escalated from 4 W while the cooling water temperature and its flow rate were kept at 5.0°C and 400mL/min, respectively. From the experimental results, stable heat transport from the evaporator to the condenser section was confirmed for all types of PHPs. The heat transfer coefficients at the evaporator and the condenser section were evaluated, and the heat transfer characteristics of each PHP were compared. Furthermore, the comparison was also made between the present PHPs and the other ones in literatures.