Application of nanofluids in heat pipes usually presents satisfactory experimental results regarding a thermal resistance reduction of the heat pipe.However,the existing computational studies connecting heat pipes and...Application of nanofluids in heat pipes usually presents satisfactory experimental results regarding a thermal resistance reduction of the heat pipe.However,the existing computational studies connecting heat pipes and nanofluids lack a deeper discussion regarding the validity of the models currently used for representing the behaviour of a nanofluid in a heat pipe,particularly for unusual base fluids and nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes or ethylene glycol.Thus,this comparative study presents the results of a set of computational simulations using pre-established equations for modelling a nanofluid in a heat pipe with experimental data from the literature.The results show agreement with the expected behaviour qualitatively and the presented maximum variations between 1.5% and 23.9% in comparison to the experimentally measured average temperatures.Also,the experimentally obtained temperature distribution of a heat pipe could not be reached numerically only with the use of adequate thermal properties,indicating that the boiling phenomenon is more complex than the current model used for computational simulations.Moreover,the existence of an optimal particle volume fraction for using nanofluids in this application could be observed by combining different properties models.展开更多
基金CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico of Brazil) for the scholarship to Prof. Rodrigo Vidonscky Pinto.
文摘Application of nanofluids in heat pipes usually presents satisfactory experimental results regarding a thermal resistance reduction of the heat pipe.However,the existing computational studies connecting heat pipes and nanofluids lack a deeper discussion regarding the validity of the models currently used for representing the behaviour of a nanofluid in a heat pipe,particularly for unusual base fluids and nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes or ethylene glycol.Thus,this comparative study presents the results of a set of computational simulations using pre-established equations for modelling a nanofluid in a heat pipe with experimental data from the literature.The results show agreement with the expected behaviour qualitatively and the presented maximum variations between 1.5% and 23.9% in comparison to the experimentally measured average temperatures.Also,the experimentally obtained temperature distribution of a heat pipe could not be reached numerically only with the use of adequate thermal properties,indicating that the boiling phenomenon is more complex than the current model used for computational simulations.Moreover,the existence of an optimal particle volume fraction for using nanofluids in this application could be observed by combining different properties models.
