Effect of Inclination Angle on the Heat Transfer Performance of a Two-Phase Closed Thermosyphon under Low-Temperature Conditions
Publication: Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 4
Abstract
In this study, a series of laboratory investigations were performed to examine the heat transfer performance of a two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) with different inclination angles under low-temperature conditions. A stainless steel TPCT with ammonia as the working fluid was tested with inclination angles ranging from 0 to 90° from the horizontal. In order to simulate low-temperature conditions, the temperature in the jacket of evaporator section was controlled at , and the temperature in the jacket of the condenser section was changed from to . The experimental results show that inclination angle has a significant impact on the heat transfer performance of a TPCT under the experimental conditions, but the inclination angle does not control the startup temperature difference for the TPCT when the inclination angle is more than 0°. A horizontal TPCT has a good heat transfer performance and a small startup temperature difference; however, the thermal semiconduction effect disappears, because gravity has a limited effect on the circulation of the working fluid in a horizontal TCPT. These research results can help to guide decisions about the placement angle of TPCTs in cold regions engineering.
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Acknowledgments
The paper benefited from the constructive comments of two anonymous reviewers. The research was supported by the CAS Action-Plan for West Development (Grant No. KZCX2-XB3-19), the 100-Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Granted to Dr. Mingyi Zhang), the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-EW-QN301), the National key Basic Research Program of China (973 Program Grant No. 2012CB026102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41230630, 41101068), and Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS.
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Published In
Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 4 • December 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 2, 2013
Accepted: May 19, 2014
Published online: Jul 8, 2014
Published in print: Dec 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 8, 2014
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