| Abstract: | Two kinds of screen mesh inserts were produced with unique cross-sectional shapes (NW2 and NW3) to improve heat transfer in a horizontal evaporating tube under small heat flux conditions. These inserts were expected to supply liquid from the thick bottom layer to the upper (top) part of a heated horizontal round tube, which is the most difficult part to wet. In the present work, heat transfer performances were investigated experimentally by using a horizontal heat pipe with a visual observation capability. The experimental results showed that NW2 and NW3 worked well if the heat flux was less than 8 kW/m2. This improvement was confirmed by comparison with both the data for an ordinary screen-mesh wick and calculated results based on an analytical model. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Jpn Res, 26(8): 529–540, 1997 |
