Heat and mass transfer in a flat disc-shaped evaporator of a miniature loop heat pipe

The start-up characteristics of a flat miniature loop heat pipe (LHP) with different heat loads were experimentally investigated in this article. Reasons for the difficulties in its start-up were analysed. An overall two-dimensional numerical model was developed to address the heat and mass transfer characteristics in the evaporator of the miniature LHP. The numerical results showed that the performance of the flat miniature LHP could be enhanced by improving the geometrical structure in a limited working space. Effects of thickness of the side wall, height of the compensation chamber, and the wick on system performance were discussed in detail.