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Evaluation of the Thermal Performance of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger under Natural Convection

Sumit Kumar Rai and K K Jain1 and K K Jain2
1.Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shri Ram Institute of Technology, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India.
2.Heat Power Engineering Department, Rajeev Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Abstract— An analytical model will be developed to evaluate the thermal performance of a Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger (HPHE) under natural convection by adopting thermal resistance approach. The model evaluates the rate of heat transport and pressure drop across evaporator system of the HPHE under natural convection. The model computes various thermal resistance of the heat pipe at the external surface of evaporator and condenser as well as the internal surface of the heat pipe based on the correlations available in the literature. The rate of heat transport will be calculated by converting the model into a computer programme whose solution is based on an iterative procedure. The analytical model validated on a single heat pipe will extend to the HPHE by incorporating appropriate geometrical and heat transfer co-relations. Another test rig will be developed for evaluating the thermal performance of a HPHE under natural convective cooling condition as well as for validating the analytical model. The experiment will be conducted on the HPHE under natural convective condition at different tilt angles form the horizontal (150, 250, 300 and 900) and at various heating fluid temperatures (40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C) at its evaporator inlet. The Reynolds numbers of heating fluid in the evaporator section will varies in the any range of Reynold Numbers. The variation of ambient surrounding temperature will also be considered. The heat transport rate of the HPHE should be increases marginally as the Reynolds number of heating fluid increases in the evaporator section because the condenser heat transfer coefficient does not increase significantly. The maximum heat transport rate from the HPHE will be obtained at any tilt angle and any heating fluid temperature.

Index Terms— Heat pipe, Evaporator, Condenser

Cite: Sumit Kumar Rai and K K Jain, " Evaluation of the Thermal Performance of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger under Natural Convection," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 268-271, July 2012.