ABSTRACT:

This study investigates the combined effect of sub-cooling and pressure on the performance of an enhanced microstructure based thermosyphon, which has shown very high heat transfer rates (up to 100 W/cm² with a wall superheat of 27.8^oC). The pressure levels tested were partial vacuum (40-101.3 kPa), atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa) and high pressure (101.3-370 kPa). The experiments were initiated at room temperature, and hence the sub-cooling corresponded to the difference in the liquid saturation temperature at the starting system pressure and room temperature. The results show a reduction in wall superheat values at higher pressures, at a given heat flux. The performance of the system was evaluated by defining a surface-to-ambient resistance. Results show that a partial vacuum at all heat fluxes results in better performance compared to higher pressures. The combined effect of pressure and sub-cooling was also tested for a compact evaporator and the results obtained were similar to the baseline case (larger evaporator).

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