Experimental Study on the Effect of Heat Loads, Fill Ratio and Extra Volume on Performance of a Partial-Vacuumed Thermosyphon

This paper reports a study on the effect of the heat flux, cooling water flow rate, fill ratio and extra volume on the overall performance of a partially vacuumed thermosyphon. A rig was made from a 1 m copper tube with an inner and outer diameter of 17.5 and 19 mm. The heights of the evaporator, the adiabatic section and the condenser are 40, 20 and 40 cm, respectively. The temperatures at different places on the thermosyphon and on the inlet/outlet ofthe cooling water were measured. It was observed that change in heat flux, fill ratio and employing different extra volumes, has a significant effect on its performance. On the other hand, with changes in the cooling water flow rate the performance ofthe thermosyphon was altered regarding the trapped air movement. In order to illustrate the effect ofthe existence ofair in deactivating the thermosyphon, the pipe was cooled down by disconnecting the evaporator power input. It was seen that the thermosyphon loses its performance as the trapped gas occupies the whole condenser. The whole study shows that due to the existence ofthe trapped air, the heat loads can have significant effects on the thermosyphon performance.