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Research Paper | Mechanical Engineering | India | Volume 3 Issue 6, June 2014

Experimental Study on Thermal Performance of Closed Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe Using Azeotropic Mixture as a Working Fluid

Pallavi Chaudhari | Pramod Pachghare

Abstract: A Closed Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe (CLPHP) is a self-excited thermally driven two phase passive heat transfer device; which transfers heat from one location to another with a negligible temperature drop. Its operation depends on the phase change of a working fluid within the loop. In this paper; experimental study on a vertical closed loop pulsating heat pipe (PHP) has been conducted having 50 % filling ratio (FR). The heat power was supplied from 8 W to 96 W; in the steps of 8 W. The thermal performance is measured in terms of thermal resistance. The work explores the thermal performance of a PHP working with an azeotropic mixture of water (4.5 % wt. ) and ethanol (95.5 % wt. ) in comparison to pure ethanol and water. The various temperatures were recorded on the outer wall of the evaporator and condenser section. Overall thermal resistance at different heat inputs was calculated. It is concluded that; the thermal resistance decreases more rapidly with the increase of the heat Input power. No measurable difference has been recorded for the PHP running with azeotropic mixture of ethanol (95.5 % wt. ) and water (4.5 % wt. ) in comparison with pure ethanol; in terms of overall thermal resistance.

Keywords: pulsating heat pipe, azeotropic mixture, thermal resistance, heat transfer, working fluid

Edition: Volume 3 Issue 6, June 2014,

Pages: 1735 - 1739