A Study on the Miniature Loop Heat Pipe with Non-inverted Meniscus type Capillary Structure

Non-inverted Meniscus식 모세관 구조물을 이용한 소형 루프히트파이프에 관한 실험적 연구

Experimental study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a miniature loop heat pipe (MLHP) with non-inverted meniscus type capillary structure. All parts of MLHP in this study were made of copper including the capillary structure and the distilled water was used as a working fluid of MLHP. The outer diameter of evaporator was 9 mm and its length was 119 mm. The effective pore size of the capillary structure was 30 micron and its porosity was 60%. The vapor transport line, the liquid transport line and the condenser were consisted of single 4.0 mm copper tube. The distance between the evaporator and the condenser region was 200 mm and the length of the loop was 969 mm. This MLHP was operated successfully at any orientation but the gravity highly influenced the thermal performance of the MLHP. The maximum thermal load was 130 watts at the bottom heat mode and the 20 watts at the top heat mode.