Experimental study on CPU cooling system of closed‐loop two‐phase thermosyphon

This paper reports on an indirect cooling method of high‐power CPU of notebook computers using a closed‐loop two‐phase thermosyphon with Fluorinert (FC‐72) as the working fluid. The experimental setup consists of an evaporator with an electric heater, a condenser, and flexible tube connecting them. The heater and condenser act as a high‐power CPU and a cooling plate located behind the display of a notebook computer, respectively. The evaporator and the condenser have the outer dimensions of 50mm × 50mm × 20mm and 150mm × 200mm × 20mm, respectively. Four possible boiling surfaces of an evaporator were examined, i.e., a smooth surface (Type A), rough one, ones with smooth plate fins and rough plate fins (Type D). Type D evaporator shows the highest performance, i.e., it reduces the temperature at the evaporator/heater interface by about 18% in comparison with that of the smooth surface evaporator (Type A). Type D evaporator keeps the temperature difference between the evaporator/heater interface and the ambient to be around 55 K at the highest heat input Q = 30W. The effects of the heat input Q, the volumetric amount of Fluorinert liquid F in the thermosyphon, and the evaporator type on the heat transfer characteristics of the cooling system were examined experimentally. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 34(3): 147–159, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20057     

A study on latent heat storage exchangers with the high‐temperature phase‐change material

This paper presents a theoretical analysis and an experimental test on a shell‐and‐tube latent heat storage exchanger. The heat exchanger is used to recover high‐temperature waste heat from industrial furnaces and off‐peak electricity. It can also be integrated into a renewable energy system as an energy storage component. A mathematical model describing the unsteady freezing problem coupled with forced convection is solved numerically to predict the performance of the heat exchanger. It provides the basis for an optimum design of the heat exchanger. The experimental study on the heat exchanger is carried out under various operating conditions. Effects of various parameters, such as the inlet temperature, the mass flow rate, the thickness of the phase‐change material and the length of the pipes, on the heat transfer performance of the unit are discussed combined with theoretical prediction. The criterion for analyzing and evaluating the performance of heat exchanger is also proposed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A theoretical study of evaporative heat transfer in high‐velocity two‐phase flow of air–water in a small vertical tube

A theoretical study was performed to investigate the evaporative heat transfer of high‐velocity two‐phase flow of air–water in a small vertical tube under both heating conditions of constant wall temperature and constant heat flux. A simplified two‐phase flow boundary layer model was used to evaluate the evaporative heat transfer characteristics of the annular two‐phase flow. The analytical results show that the gravitational force, the gas–liquid surface tension force, and the inertial force are much smaller than the frictional force and hence can be neglected for a small tube. The evaporative heat transfer characteristics of the small tube with constant wall temperature are quite close to those of the small tube with constant heat flux. The mechanism of the heat transfer enhancement is the forced convective evaporation on the surface of the thin liquid film. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(5): 430–444, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10110     

Coupled radiation‐convection heat transfer of high‐temperature participating medium in heated/cooled tubes

The coupled radiation‐convection heat transfer of high‐temperature participating medium in heated/cooled tubes is investigated numerically. The medium flows in a laminar and fully developed state with a Poiseuille velocity distribution, but the thermal status is developing. By the discrete ordinate method, the nonlinear integrodifferential radiative transfer equation in a cylindrical coordinate form is solved to give the radiative source term in the energy equation of coupled heat transfer. The energy equation is solved by the control volume method. The local Nusselt number and wall heat flux of convection as well as the total wall heat flux are employed to evaluate the influence of radiation heat transfer on convection. The analysis shows that the radiation heat transfer weakens the convection effect, promotes the temperature development, and significantly shortens the tube length with obvious heated/cooled effect. There is an obvious difference between the coupled heat transfer in a heated tube and that in a cooled tube, even though the medium properties are kept constant. The wall emissivity, the medium thermal conductivity and scattering albedo have significant influences on the coupled heat transfer, but the effect of medium scattering phase function is small. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 33(1): 64–72, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10137     

Analytical modelling of transient phase‐change problems

In this paper, an analytical solution for the temporal location of moving solid–liquid interface of a phase‐change process, occurring in parallel plate channels, is presented. The motion of the solid–liquid interface is governed by the convection from the surface of one of the plates, while constant heat supply is assumed to occur on the surface of the other plate. The steady location of the solid–liquid interface is also determined. The variation of the Biot number versus the Fourier number is investigated. The results of this study indicate that simple analytical solutions for transient phase‐change problems with heat flux and convective boundary conditions that are of practical importance to the people working in the field can be obtained. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study of closed‐loop thermosyphon with a different evaporator geometry

In this study, the effect of evaporator geometry on the loop thermosyphon's heat transfer coefficient is experimentally verified by using water as a working fluid with three filling ratios (50%, 70%, 90%), constant heat input (185 W), and condenser cooling water flow rate remaining constant at 2 Lpm. Three evaporator pipes are used (I: straight; II: helical coil evaporator with a diameter of 100‐mm coil and two turns; III: helical coil evaporator with a diameter of 50‐mm coil and four turns). From the experimental results, it can be observed that the performance of evaporator III is higher than the two other forms. A greater heat transfer coefficient value is found in case of type III evaporator and is equivalent to 2456 W/m²·°C. The maximum thermal resistance reduction occurs in the type III evaporator (37.32%), and the highest effective thermal conductivity for the same type is 6.123e + 05 W/m·°C. The experimental results demonstrate good agreement with the empirical equations.     

Numerical simulation of high‐temperature phase change heat storage system

In this paper, numerical results pertaining to cyclic melting and freezing of an encapsulated phase‐change material (PCM) have been reported. The cyclic nature of the present problem is relevant to latent heat thermal energy storage system used to power solar Brayton engines in space. In particular, a physical and numerical model of the single‐tube phase change heat storage system was developed. A high‐temperature eutectic mixture of LiF‐CaF₂ was used as the PCM and dry air was used as the working fluid. Numerical results were compared with available experimental data. The trends were in close agreement. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 33(1): 32–41, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10132     

New insights for phase‐change immersion cooling enhancement of solar cells under high concentration ratios

To answer how surface corrosion affects the heat transfer performance of phase‐change immersion cooling solar cells, electrochemical etching was used for substrate surface treatment of simulated dense‐array solar cells in this paper. Morphology, roughness, and wettability of treated surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, and spreading area, respectively. A self‐running cooling system was developed to investigate the effect of surface treatment on self‐running characteristics and heat transfer performance under different ethanol inlet temperatures and concentration ratios. The results show that the surface treated for 2 hours owns higher wettability because of the honeycomb‐like porous structure. Lower ethanol flowing velocity obtained under lower ethanol inlet temperature with treated samples. The maximum declined degree in the wall superheating of 21.1% and the maximum enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient of 33.3% are obtained for sample treated for 2 hours because of its higher wettability and porosity structure. The results show that electrochemical etching on substrate surface can improve the phase‐change immersion cooling performance of solar cells.     

Heat transfer characteristics in a condenser of closed two‐phase thermosyphon: Effect of entrainment on heat transfer deterioration

Condensation heat transfer in a closed two‐phase thermosyphon is experimentally examined using two different types of test section. Test Section 1 is a straight‐pipe‐type thermosyphon, whereas Test Section 2 has a large‐diameter evaporator compared with a condenser to minimize entrainment at the evaporator. Condensation heat transfer in Test Section 1 shows much lower heat transfer coefficients than those estimated by a Nusselt theory. This low condensation heat transfer occurs due to a working fluid entrainment. It is confirmed from a result of Test Section 2 that the condensation heat transfer is similar to the values predicted by the Nusselt theory as far as the effect of the working fluid entrainment is negligible and flooding does not occur. A new correlation for the heat transfer coefficient considering the effect of entrainment is proposed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(3): 212–225, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10030     

Numerical simulation of steam–water two‐phase flow under dynamic load

A separated‐phase physical model for steam–water two‐phase flow on a rotating platform was developed. The mesh generation for a horizontal pipe was conducted, and the finite volume method was used to discretize the equations. Equations were solved with the SIMPLE algorithm after setting the initial and boundary conditions. Predicted results were compared with experimental data, and they agreed well with each other. The results showed that the fluid outlet pressure and pressure drop in the test section increased with increasing dynamic load. However, the effective heat transferred to the fluid decreased with the increase of dynamic load. The developed model can be used to simulate the gas–liquid two‐phase flow under different gravity or rotary conditions.     

Development of a thermally enhanced frame wall with phase‐change materials for on‐peak air conditioning demand reduction and energy savings in residential buildings

This paper presents the development of a thermally enhanced frame wall that reduces peak air conditioning demand in residential buildings. A frame wall that integrates a highly crystalline paraffin phase‐change material (PCM), via macro‐encapsulation, was developed, constructed, and evaluated. This prototype wall is referred to as phase‐change frame wall (PCFW). Results from field testing show that the PCFW reduced wall peak heat fluxes by as much as 38%. For a period of several days that included walls facing different directions, the average wall peak heat flux reduction was approximately 15% when PCFWs with a 10% concentration of PCM (based on indoor sheathing weight) were used and approximately 9% when a 20% PCM concentration was used. The average space‐cooling load was reduced by approximately 8.6% when 10% PCM was applied and 10.8% when 20% PCM was used. The level of insulation in the PCFWs that were tested was 1.94m²K/W (R‐11). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient investigation of a two phase closed thermosyphon flat plate solar water heater

This work presents an unsteady state theoretical and experimental investigation of natural circulation two phase closed thermosyphon flat plate solar water heaters. The governing equations of the heater storage tank and connecting pipes are presented and generalized in dimensionless form, while the governing equations of the different components of the collector were previously discussed by the author. Also, the author's earlier simulation program of the collector is modified to include the solution of the dimensionless governing equations of the present analysis. For verifying the modified simulation program, a two phase closed thermosyphon solar water heater is designed, constructed and tested at different meteorological conditions, initial storage tank temperatures and different hot water withdrawal load patterns. The comparison between the experimental results and their corresponding simulated ones shows considerable agreement.     

Thermal performance investigation of a single medium temperature phase change microcapsule used for wind power absorption and heat storage system

Phase change microcapsules have a wide application in the heat storage system. The medium temperature heat storage systems such as medium temperature solar thermal plants, waste heat recovery systems and wind power absorption systems. In order to analyse the effects of configuration parameters and materials on phase change heat transfer process in a single medium temperature microcapsule, an enthalpy-transforming model was applied to trace the location of the solid-liquid interface and obtain the liquid fraction at different time in the melting process. Based on this model, the effects of particle size, the effects of wall thickness, the effects of wall materials and different medium temperature phase change materials were analyzed. The numerical results show that the larger particle size has a longer melting time, the melting time of 50 μm particle size and 250 μm particle size is 0.036 s and 2.48 s, respectively. In addition, the melting time of microcapsules with different wall thicknesses from the 1μm to 9μm is the same i.e., 0.14 s. Therefore, the wall thickness has little effect on the melting time of microcapsules. Besides, the microcapsule with the erythritol as inner material and the polystyrene as wall material has the longest melting time. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of the wall materials is the main factor affecting the melting time. Moreover, the product of latent heat and density of phase change material is the main factor of the melting time.     

Energy‐saving evaluation of a thermosyphon heat recovery unit for an air‐conditioning system

The energy‐saving effect and economic benefits of a thermosyphon heat recovery unit installed in a shopping mall are investigated. To evaluate the thermal performance of the heat recovery unit in a season, a seasonal temperature effectiveness is advanced, and its calculation formula is deduced referring to the calculation method of seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) for an air conditioner. The annual operating energy‐saving effect of the unit is analyzed by using the seasonal temperature effectiveness while the static economic evaluation method is applied for the economic benefits analysis of the unit. The analysis results indicate the seasonal temperature effectiveness of the unit is 66.08% in the winter and 55.43% in the summer. The energy‐saving effect of the unit is quite remarkable, and the payback time is about 2.65 years. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj). DOI 10.1002/htj.21049     

重力热管内部相变及传热传质过程的数值模拟

重力热管内部包含复杂的两相流动以及相变传热过程,传统理论分析及实验手段不能直观给出其内部流动、相变、热质传递的详细信息。采用VOF(volume of fluid)多相流模型对重力热管内气液两相流动及传热进行模拟,捕捉到蒸发段气泡产生、合并、长大、上升,以及冷凝段壁面附近液滴形成、合并、下滑、汇集到液池的全过程,得到的壁温分布与实验测量值对比体现良好一致性,表明数值模拟的正确性。同时,以热阻、传热量和热效率为评价标准,研究不同充液率和倾斜角度下对重力热管运行性能的影响。结果表明:在所研究的参数范围内,随着充液率的增加,热阻逐渐减小,冷凝段传热量逐渐增大。且工质初始充注量充满蒸发段时热管性能较好;倾角对热阻的影响不明显,冷凝段传热量和热效率均随倾角增加而增长。     

Improving efficiency of high‐concentrator photovoltaics by cooling with two‐phase forced convection

The potential of increasing high‐concentrator photovoltaic cell efficiency by cooling with two‐phase flow is analyzed. The governing energy equations were used to predict cell temperature distributions and cell efficiencies for a photovoltaic cell under 100 suns' concentration. Several design conditions were taken into consideration in the analysis, including cooling channel height, working fluid type (between water and R134a), working fluid inlet temperature, pressure, and mass flow rate. It was observed that the dominant parameter for increasing cell efficiency was the working fluid saturation temperature, which itself is affected by a number of the aforementioned design parameters. The results show R134a at low inlet pressures to be highly effective in this two‐phase cooling design. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of contact melting of phase change materials inside a heated rectangular capsule

Close-contact melting processes of phase change material (PCM) inside a horizontal rectangular capsule are studied. The PCM is heated by the capsule at constant heat flux at the top and isothermally at the bottom, and the sides are adiabatic. The theoretical formulas of the dimensionless melting rate and the thickness of the liquid layer during the heat transfer process are obtained by analysing, which is convenient for engineering predictions. Finally, the influences on the melting process are discussed, and conclusions are drawn.     

Facile functionalized mesoporous silica using biomimetic method as new matrix for preparation of shape‐stabilized phase‐change material with improved enthalpy

Dopamine‐functionalized mesoporous silica (DPMS), which was prepared by using a facile, easy to operate, and environmentally friendly biomimetic method, was synthesized as a new supporter of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to prepare shape‐stabilized phase‐change material (ss‐PCM) of PEG/DPMS with improved enthalpy. The thermal properties of PEG/DPMS were investigated, and the study results demonstrated that dopamine functionalization could regulate the crystallization property of PEG molecules immobilized in PEG/DPMS, and then the enthalpy of PEG/DPMS could be improved effectively. Compared with the ss‐PCM of PEG/SBA‐15 that was synthesized by using unfunctionalized silica molecular sieve (SBA‐15) as the matrix, after dopamine modification, the fusion and solidification enthalpies of 70‐wt% PEG/DPMS increased from 47.25 and 34.96 J/g to 69.77 and 67.54 J/g, respectively. The interaction mechanism study results suggested that the amino groups in the molecule of poly‐dopamines on the surface of DPMS could interact with the oxygen atoms in the molecules of PEG to form hydrogen bonds. Additionally, the PEG/DPMS had favorable thermal reliability and prominent thermal stability. Hence, the DPMS could be applied as a promising supporter for the fabrication of ss‐PCM.     

Analysis of an encapsulated phase change material‐based energy storage system for high‐temperature applications

The capability of an encapsulated phase change material (EPCM)‐based thermal energy storage (TES) system to store a large fraction of latent energy at high temperatures was examined. A 3‐dimensional simulation of a prototype heat exchanger was conducted employing sodium nitrate as the phase change material (PCM). The k‐ω SST model was used to capture the turbulent flow of the HTF, while the melting front was tracked using the enthalpy‐porosity method. The results show that the use of metal deflectors yields a nearly constant heat transfer coefficient over the capsule's surface. Despite this, the presence of the void in the capsule and natural convection within the molten PCM influenced the storage characteristics of the system affecting the shape of the isotherms and melting front. Furthermore, the EPCM capsules consecutively undergo the same heat transfer starting from the capsule closest to the inlet. The EPCM capsules store 80% of the energy lost by the HTF. The 17.7 kg of sodium nitrate stores 14.5 MJ of energy where 20% of the energy stored is via latent heat. Of the energy released by the heat transfer fluid, 80% was absorbed by the EPCM capsules with the remaining energy going into the test section walls. A total of 14.5 MJ of energy was stored by the 17.7 kg of NaNO₃, of which 20% is attributed to the latent heat. The fraction of energy stored as latent heat would be larger if a smaller operating temperature range was used. Thus, an EPCM‐based latent heat TES system is capable of storing a large fraction of the supplied energy and presents efficient means of storing thermal energy for high‐temperature applications. Additionally, the strong agreement between the numerical and experimental works demonstrates that the numerical methods employed can predict the behavior of an EPCM capsule not only within a single capsule but on the system scale as well. Therefore, the applied numerical methods can be used for further design and optimization of EPCM‐based latent heat TES systems.     

Effect of dynamic load on heat transfer characteristic of a two‐phase pipe boiling flow

An experimental investigation was performed to obtain the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a single‐phase water flow and a two‐phase pipe boiling water flow under dynamic load in the present work. By analyzing the fluid resistance, effective heat, flow pattern, and heat transfer coefficient of the experimental data, the effects of dynamic load on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of single‐phase water and two‐phase boiling water flow were investigated. The results show that the dynamic load significantly influences the flow characteristic and boiling heat transfer of the two‐phase pipe flow. It will enhance the fluid resistance and heat dissipation toward the ambient environment, and reduce the heat transferred to the two‐phase fluid. The impact mixing flow caused by the dynamic load breaks the uniform and varying principle of the wall temperatures. As a result of that, the greater the dynamic load, the lower the wall inner bottom temperature and the higher the wall inner top temperature in a certain extent. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20378