Heat Pipe
Heat pipes are passive devices of very high "effective" thermal conductivity. The heat /mass is transferred by evaporation (in the evaporator section), convection (in the adiabatic section), condensation (in the condenser) or by wicking in the porous medium. The presence of condensation requires the modeling of a phase change in the condenser.
Designers face the challenge of allowing the proper operation of the heat pipe with the minimum temperature drop, without superseding any of the heat pipe's "limits". This involves avoiding the capillary limit, boiling effects, reaching the sonic or entrainment limits or inducing a flood risk. The task of the designer is further complicated by the dynamic behavior of the heat pipe under operating conditions, including the interaction with the surrounding system.
The Fluent solution allows the designer to accurately model the heat and mass transfer in the heat pipe. Beyond the typical heat exchange phenomena (conduction, convection and possible radiation), phase change can accurately be modeled by the Fluent CFD. Accurate modeling of the operating window and the resulting performance of the heat pipe can thus be obtained faster than ever before.
