Abstract
Numerical and experimental studies on a heat pipe with two heat sources have been performed to investigate the operating characteristics. Numerical analysis was performed based on the cylindrical two-dimensional incompressible laminar flow for the vapor space and the conjugate heat transfer for the entire heat pipe. Experimental study with a 0.45 m length copper-water heat pipe was also performed to validate the numerical modeling for the heat input range from 29 W to 47 W on each heater. As results, the temperature profiles at the outer wall for the single active heat source as well as the temperature profiles for the switching operation between two heat sources are suggested. Due to the axial conduction, it is found that the temperature drop between the evaporator and the condenser appears small when the heat source closer to the condenser is turned on. For the switching operation in the present study, the transient time is about 700s and the temperatures at the locations of both heat source are same in 130s after switching.