Transient Thermo-Fluid Modeling of Loop Heat Pipes and Experimental Validation

A transient mathematical model is developed to study the transient response and analyze the distribution of heat load in a loop heat pipe. The model is based on the one-dimensional and time-dependent conservation equations for heat and fluid flow. The momentum and energy conservation equations for each of the loop heat pipe components are solved. The model results are compared against the data obtained from two miniature loop heat pipes using polytetrafluoroethylene wicks, ethanol, and acetone as working fluids. The mathematical model satisfactorily predicts the dynamic behavior of the loop heat pipe unit. It is shown that the percentage of heat leak across the wick decreases and the ratio of latent heat increases with increasing heat load. Some temperature overshoots observed in the calculation results are not observed in the experimental data. When a new power is applied, no time lag is observed in the loop heat pipe response between the simulation and experimental results.

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