Numerical study of flow visualization and thermal performance for pulsating heat pipes

Pouryoussefi, Sam Mohamad Hassan; Pouryoussefi, Sohrab Gholamhosein

doi:10.22034/jast.2022.346070.1119

Numerical study of flow visualization and thermal performance for pulsating heat pipes

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Sam Mohamad Hassan Pouryoussefi ¹

Sohrab Gholamhosein Pouryoussefi ²

¹ University of Missouri, Columbia

² Faculty of Aerospace Engineering K.N.Toosi University

10.22034/jast.2022.346070.1119

Abstract

Importance of study of pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) behavior and limitations in conducting experimental studies, the necessity of numerical simulations is getting critical in this area. In present work, numerical simulations are carried out for pulsating heat pipes. Thermal performance of closed loop pulsating heat pipes is investigated at different operating conditions such as evaporator heating power and filling ratio. Water, ethanol, methanol and acetone are employed as working fluids. A two-dimensional single loop PHP is used for present study. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) video technique is employed for flow visualization purpose. Perfect match was observed between the present CFD video clip and previous experimental video-based studies in terms of flow pattern and behavior. Present study shows how researchers can benefit from developments of numerical tools to test pulsating heat pipes behavior at different operating conditions or different working fluids without facing difficulties and limitations of applying laboratory thermal measurement equipment or high-speed cameras. The CFD video clip as result of numerical simulation was found very informative for flow visualization purpose. The simulated clip made it much easier to capture phenomena occur in a pulsating heat pipe. The thermal performance investigation at different operating conditions and working fluids was found very informative in terms of application and design purposes especially for experimental studies. By increasing heating power greater than 60 W, circulation velocity was increased for most cases. Phase contour videos are inserted at the bottom of the article.

Keywords

Pulsating heat pipe

Numerical simulation

Thermal performance

CFD video technique

Flow visualization

20.1001.1.17352134.2022.15.2.2.2

Subjects

Aerospace systems Design

[1] Mohammadi, O., Shafii, M.B., Rezaee Shirin-Abadi, A., Heydarian, R., Ahmadi, M.H.: The impacts of utilizing nano-encapsulated PCM along with RGO nanosheets in a pulsating heat pipe, a comparative study. Int. J. Energy Res. 45 (13), 19481-19499 (2021)

[2] Shafii, M.B., Faghri, A., Zhang, Y.: Thermal modeling of unlooped and looped pulsating heat pipes. J. Heat Transf. 123 (6), 1159-1172 (2001)

[3] Zhang, Y., Faghri, A.: Heat transfer in a pulsating heat pipe with open end. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 45 (4), 755-764 (2002)

[4] Zhang, Y., Faghri, A.: Oscillatory flow in pulsating heat pipes with arbitrary numbers of turns. J. Thermophys. Heat Transf. 17 (3), 340-347 (2003)

[5] Zhang, Y., Faghri, A.: Advances and unsolved issues in pulsating heat pipes. Heat Transf. Eng. 29 (1), 20-44 (2008)

[6] Ma, H.B., Borgmeyer, B., Cheng, P., Zhang, Y.: Heat transport capability in an oscillating heat pipe. J. Heat Transf. 130 (8), 081501 (2008)

[7] Qu, J., Wu, H., Cheng, P.: Experimental study on thermal performance of a silicon-based micro pulsating heat pipe. In ASME Second International Conference on Micro/Nanoscale Heat and Mass Transfer 43918, 629-634 (2009)

[8] Qu, J., Wu, H.Y., Wang, Q.: Experimental investigation of silicon-based micro-pulsating heat pipe for cooling electronics. Nanoscale Microscale Thermophys. Eng. 16 (1), 37-49 (2012)

[9] Xian, H., Xu, W., Zhang, Y., Du, X., Yang, Y.: Experimental investigations of dynamic fluid flow in oscillating heat pipe under pulse heating. Appl. Therm. Eng. 88, 376-383 (2015)

[10] Jiaqiang, E., Zhao, X., Deng, Y., Zhu, H.: Pressure distribution and flow characteristics of closed oscillating heat pipe during the starting process at different vacuum degrees. Appl. Therm. Eng. 93, 166-173 (2016)

[11] Song, Y., Xu, J.: Chaotic behavior of pulsating heat pipes. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 52(13-14), 2932-2941 (2009)

[12] Turkyilmazoglu, M.: Anomalous heat transfer enhancement by slip due to nanofluids in circular concentric pipes. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 85, 609-614 (2015)

[13] Turkyilmazoglu, M.: Analytical solutions of single and multi-phase models for the condensation of nanofluid film flow and heat transfer. Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids 53, 272-277 (2015)

[14] Dobson, R.T.: Theoretical and experimental modelling of an open oscillatory heat pipe including gravity. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 43 (2), 113-119 (2004)

[15] Xiao-Ping, L., Cui, F.Z.: Modelling of phase change heat transfer system for micro-channel and chaos simulation. Chinese Phys. Lett. 25 (6), 2111 (2008)

[16] Ridouane, E.H., Danforth, C.M., Hitt, D.L.: A 2-D numerical study of chaotic flow in a natural convection loop. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 53 (1-3), 76-84 (2010)

[17] Zufar, M., Gunnasegaran, P., Kumar, H.M., Ng, K.C.: Numerical and experimental investigations of hybrid nanofluids on pulsating heat pipe performance. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 146, 118887 (2020)

[18] Pouryoussefi, S.M., Zhang, Y.: Numerical investigation of chaotic flow in a 2D closed-loop pulsating heat pipe. Appl. Therm. Eng. 98, 617-627 (2016)

[19] Pouryoussefi, S.M., Zhang, Y.: Analysis of chaotic flow in a 2D multi-turn closed-loop pulsating heat pipe. Appl. Therm. Eng. 126, 1069-1076 (2017)

[20] Pouryoussefi, S.M., Zhang, Y.: Nonlinear analysis of chaotic flow in a three-dimensional closed-loop pulsating heat pipe. J. Heat Transf. 138 (12), 122003 (2016)

[21] Khandekar, S., Groll, M., Charoensawan, P., Terdtoon, P.: Pulsating heat pipes: thermo-fluidic characteristics and comparative study with single phase thermosyphon. In International Heat Transfer Conference Digital Library, Begel House Inc. (2002).