HEAT TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WICKLESS JACKET-TYPE RADIAL HEAT PIPE

This paper presents a theoretical investigation of the behavior of the jacket-type radial heat pipe in a transient regime. We used a simple, rapid mathematical model to calculate the unsteady-state startup process of the jacket-type radial heat pipe. We also developed a computer simulation program based on the method that estimates the temperature of the heat pipe as well as the time needed to reach a steady-state condition. This paper presents an analysis of the startup performance of the heat pipe with variation of the input heat power. Experiments were focused on defining the influence of the input heat power on the steady-state heat transfer characteristics of the jacket-type radial heat pipe. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data. Other favorable outcomes were: the locations near the orifice have good temperature uniformity in the inner tube; an increasing Reynolds number results in a decreasing Nusselt number on a smooth surface, and the total thermal resistance of the heat pipe decreases with increase in the input heat power and filling ratio.