Authors

Abstract

The heat pipe is a device that efficiently transfers heat from one end to another. It has been widely applied in electronic system cooling and heat spreading applications due to its superior heat conductivity. Many parameters affect the performance of the heat pipe which are worthwise to be investigated. For this reason an experimental rig was designed and constructed to study the important parameters such as the heat load, the working fluid charge and the angle of inclination. Calibrated thermocouples were inserted into the heat pipe outside surface, along and around it, to measure and to show the temperature distribution profile. Heptane was used as a working fluid. Results show that the maximum conductivity obtained was more than one thousand times that of stainless steel solid bar which is the material of the heat pipe container. Also, results of the experimental work show a good agreement with that obtained from theoretical and empirical correlations derived by other researchers especially when the power input is lower than (1000)W where after a dry out condition can be clearly seen.

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