Choosing Working Fluid for Two-Phase Thermosyphon Systems for Cooling of Electronics

Abstract

The heat fluxes from electronic components are steadily increasing and have now, in some applications, reached levels where air-cooling is no longer sufficient. One alternative solution, which has received much attention during the last decade, is to use heat pipes or thermosyphons for transferring or spreading the dissipated heat. In this paper two-phase thermosyphon loops are discussed. Especially, the choice of fluid and its influence on the design and performance is treated. The discussion is supported by results from simulations concerning heat transfer and pressure drop. In general it is found that high-pressure fluids will give better performance and more compact designs as high-pressure results in higher boiling heat transfer coefficients and smaller necessary tube diameter.