Modeling and Thermal Optimization of a Micro Heat Pipe With Curved Triangular Grooves

Heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in a micro heat pipe with curved triangular grooves are investigated using numerical and experimental methods. In the numerical part, a one-dimensional mathematical model for micro heat pipe with curved triangular grooves is developed and solved to obtain the maximum heat transport rate, the capillary radius distribution, the liquid and the vapor pressure distributions along the axial direction of the micro heat pipe under the steady-state condition. In particular, the modified Shah method is applied to calculate the pressure drop induced by the liquid-vapor interfacial shear stress. Experiments are conducted to validate the numerical model. In the experiments, the micro heat pipe with 0.56 mm in hydraulic diameter and 50 mm in length is tested. The experimental results for the maximum heat transport rate agree well with those of the numerical investigations. Finally, thermal optimization of the micro heat pipe with curved triangular grooves is performed using the numerical model.