Experimental Investigations on Performance Analysis of a Wickless Thermosiphon Heat Pipe With Two Heat Sources and Multiple Branches

Abstract

In an electronic circuit of laptops, supercomputers with multiple central processing units, spacecraft etc., it is required to arrange the cooling system for multiple heat loads in the smallest possible space in view of power-saving opportunities. In the present study, the experimental investigations are carried out on a wickless multi-branch heat pipe in gravity-assisted mode with two evaporators and one condenser on each of the individual branches. The start-up and dynamic characteristics were studied with different filling ratios (range, 40–70%), with equal heat loads (range, 0–200 W) and unequal heat loads (range, 0–100 W) on evaporators. The results are analyzed in terms of temperature variation in axial direction, thermal resistance, and heat transfer coefficient for a multi-branch thermosiphon heat pipe (MBTHP). It was found that the optimal filling ratio depends on the applied heat load under tested conditions. In a thermosiphon mode, the heat pipe was capable of transporting a maximum heat load of 210 W and maximum heat flux of 20.31 W/cm2 with the maximum evaporator temperature lower than 100 °C. The minimum wickless thermal resistance of heat pipe was found to be 0.21 °C/W at 50% filling ratio and 160 W and maximum total heat transfer coefficient was found as 6.33 k W/m2 °C.