Experimental Study of a Two-Phase Heat Transport Device Driven by Electrohydrodynamic Conduction Pumping

Author(s):  
Matthew R. Pearson ◽  
Jamal Seyed-Yagoobi

Heat pipes are well-known as simple and effective heat transport devices, utilizing two-phase flow and the capillary phenomenon to remove heat. However, the generation of capillary pressure requires a wicking structure and the overall heat transport capacity of the heat pipe is generally limited by the amount of capillary pressure generation that the wicking structure can achieve. Therefore, to increase the heat transport capacity, the capillary phenomenon must be either augmented or replaced by some other pumping technique. Electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping has been demonstrated as an effective method for pumping liquid films by using DC electric fields and a dielectric working fluid. Beyond increased pumping capacity, EHD conduction pumping offers other advantages over capillary pumping, such as active control of the pumping capacity via the intensity of the applied electric field. This experimental study demonstrates the prospects of a macro-scale two-phase heat transport device that is driven by EHD conduction pumping. Various liquid film thicknesses are considered. In each case, the performance of the EHD-driven heat transport device at various electric field intensities is compared to the capabilities of the same device under gravity alone. The effect of tilt on the device is also considered.

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Pearson ◽  
Jamal Seyed-Yagoobi

Heat pipes are well known as simple and effective heat transport devices, utilizing two-phase flow and the capillary phenomenon to remove heat. However, the generation of capillary pressure requires a wicking structure and the overall heat transport capacity of the heat pipe is generally limited by the amount of capillary pressure generation that the wicking structure can achieve. Therefore, to increase the heat transport capacity, the capillary phenomenon must be either augmented or replaced by some other pumping technique. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping can be readily used to pump a thin film of a dielectric liquid along a surface, using electrodes that are embedded into the surface. In this study, two two-phase heat transport devices are created. The first device transports the heat in a linear direction. The second device transports the heat in a radial direction from a central heat source. The radial pumping configuration provides several advantages. Most notably, the heat source is wetted with fresh liquid from all directions, thereby reducing the amount of distance that must be travelled by the working fluid. The power required to operate the EHD conduction pumps is a trivial amount relative to the heat that is transported.


Author(s):  
Viral K. Patel ◽  
Jamal Seyed-Yagoobi

Micro-scale two-phase flow heat transport involves specialized devices that are used to remove large amounts of heat from small surface areas. They operate by circulating a working fluid through a heated space which causes phase change from liquid to vapor. During this process, a significant amount of heat is transported away from the heat source. Micro-scale heat transport devices are compact in size and the heat transfer coefficient can be orders of magnitude higher than in macro-scale for similar operating conditions. Thus, it is of interest to develop such devices for cooling of next-generation electronics and other applications with extremely large heat fluxes. The heat transport device presented in this paper is driven by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping. In EHD conduction pumping, when an electric field is applied to a dielectric liquid, flow is induced. The pump is installed in a two-phase flow loop and has a circular 1 mm diameter cross section with electrode spacing on the order of 120 μm. It acts to circulate the fluid in the loop and has a simple yet robust, non-mechanical design. Results from two-phase flow experiments show that it is easily controlled and such electrically driven pumps can effectively be used in heat transport systems.


Author(s):  
Matthew R. Pearson ◽  
Jamal Seyed-Yagoobi

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping can be readily used to pump a thin film of a dielectric liquid along a surface, using electrodes that are embedded into the surface. This effect has been demonstrated under adiabatic conditions and has also been used to create a two-phase heat transport device that is similar to a heat pipe, but with the wicking structure replaced by an EHD conduction pump. In this study, a circular two-phase heat transport device is created. The device features circular electrodes that are arranged concentrically on the bottom surface and that pump a liquid film towards a heat source located at the center of the device. This heat source evaporates the liquid, and a large annular condenser at the periphery of the bottom surface provides a continuous supply of fresh liquid. This radial pumping configuration provides several advantages. Most notably, the heat source is wetted with fresh liquid from all 360 degrees, thereby reducing the amount of distance that must be travelled compared to a linear device. Consequently, the heat flux that can be removed from the central heat source far exceeds the normal critical heat flux of the working fluid. Electrodes are embedded in the condenser, adiabatic, and evaporator sections to maximize the amount of pumping head that can be generated and thereby maximize the heat flux removal.


Author(s):  
D. Sugumar ◽  
Kek Kiong Tio

A micro heat pipe will operate effectively by achieving its maximum possible heat transport capacity only if it is to operate at a specific temperature, i.e., design temperature. In reality, micro heat pipe’s may be required to operate at temperatures different from the design temperature. In this study, the heat transport capacity of an equilateral triangle micro heat pipe is investigated. The micro heat pipe is filled optimally with working fluid for a specific design temperature and operated at different operating temperatures. For this purpose, water, pentane and acetone was selected as the working fluids. From the numerical results obtained, it shows that the optimal charge level of the micro heat pipe is dependent on the operating temperature. Furthermore, the results also shows that if the micro heat pipe is to be operated at temperatures other than its design temperature, its heat transport capacity is limited by the occurrence of flooding at the condenser section or dryout at the evaporator section, depending on the operating temperature and type of working fluid. It is observed that when the micro heat pipe is operated at a higher temperature than its design temperature, the heat transport capacity increases but limited by the onset of dryout at the evaporator section. However, the heat transport capacity decreases if it is to be operated at lower temperatures than its design temperature due to the occurrence of flooding at condenser end. From the results obtained, we can conclude that the performance of a micro heat pipe is decreased if it is to be operated at temperatures other than its design temperature.


Author(s):  
Jennifer Niessner ◽  
S. Majid Hassanizadeh ◽  
Dustin Crandall

We present a new numerical model for macro-scale two-phase flow in porous media which is based on a physically consistent theory of multi-phase flow. The standard approach for modeling the flow of two fluid phases in a porous medium consists of a continuity equation for each phase, an extended form of Darcy’s law as well as constitutive relationships for relative permeability and capillary pressure. This approach is known to have a number of important shortcomings and, in particular, it does not account for the presence and role of fluid–fluid interfaces. An alternative is to use an extended model which is founded on thermodynamic principles and is physically consistent. In addition to the standard equations, the model uses a balance equation for specific interfacial area. The constitutive relationship for capillary pressure involves not only saturation, but also specific interfacial area. We show how parameters can be obtained for the alternative model using experimental data from a new kind of flow cell and present results of a numerical modeling study.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiquan Yu ◽  
Nicholas A. Pohlman ◽  
Kevin P. Hallinan ◽  
Reza Kashani

Abstract An ion-drag pump is utilized to enhance the heat transport capacity of micro heat pipes. An analytical model is developed to estimate the maximum heat transport capacity as a function of the applied electric field. The model predicts that the application of an electric field causes a four fold increase in heat transport capacity. A transient analytical model was developed to permit variation of the electric field with applied thermal load. A proportional-integral-derivative controller was used to simulate active temperature control. The feasibility of achieving active temperature control was demonstrated experimentally.


Author(s):  
Shuangfeng Wang ◽  
Shigefumi Nishio

Heat transport rates of micro scale SEMOS (Self-Exciting Mode Oscillating) heat pipe with inner diameter of 1.5mm, 1.2mm and 0.9mm, were investigated by using R141b, ethanol and water as working fluids. The effects of inner diameter, liquid volume faction, and material properties of the working fluids are examined. It shows that the smaller the inner diameter, the higher the thermal transport density is. For removing high heat flux, the water is the most promising working fluid as it has the largest critical heat transfer rate and the widest operating range among the three kinds of working fluids. A one-dimensional numerical simulation is carried out to describe the heat transport characteristics and the two-phase flow behavior in the closed loop SEMOS heat pipe. The numerical prediction agrees with the experimental results fairly well, when the input heat through was not very high and the flow pattern was slug flow.   This paper was also originally published as part of the Proceedings of the ASME 2005 Pacific Rim Technical Conference and Exhibition on Integration and Packaging of MEMS, NEMS, and Electronic Systems.


2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yew Mun Hung ◽  
Kek-Kiong Tio

A one-dimensional, steady-state model of a triangular microheat pipe (MHP) is developed, with the main purpose of investigating the thermal effects of the solid wall on the heat transport capacity of an MHP. The energy equation of the solid wall is solved analytically to obtain the axial temperature distribution, the average of which over the entire length of the MHP is simply its operating temperature. Next, the liquid phase is coupled with the solid wall by a heat transfer coefficient. Then, the continuity, momentum, and energy equations of the liquid and vapor phases are, together with the Young–Laplace equation, solved numerically to yield the heat and fluid flow characteristics of the MHP. The heat transport capacity and the associated optimal charge level of the working fluid are predicted for different operating conditions. Comparison between the models with and without a solid wall reveals that the presence of the solid wall induces a change in the phase change heat transport by the working fluid, besides facilitating axial heat conduction in the solid wall. The analysis also highlights the effects of the thickness and thermal conductivity of the solid wall on its axial temperature distribution. Finally, while the contribution of the thermal effects of the solid wall on the heat transport capacity of the MHP is usually not dominant, it is, nevertheless, not negligible either.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document