The thermal performance of a flat-plate oscillating heat pipe operating as a heat spreader was experimentally investigated. The copper flat-plate oscillating heat pipe had overall dimensions of , possessed two layers of minichannels, and was charged with acetone to a filling ratio of approximately 80%. The flat-plate oscillating heat pipe was centrally heated with a square heat source and had a copper pin-fin heat sink attached to its opposite side for crossflowing air at speeds of either 1, 2, or . The results clearly indicated that the flat-plate oscillating heat pipe is capable of operating in the thermal spreading mode, providing for a 10–15% reduction in total thermal resistance (relative to pure copper) and managing heat inputs up to 230 W () with the maximum surface temperature not exceeding 100°C. In addition, the temperature uniformity of the heat sink was greater when attached to the flat-plate oscillating heat pipe, especially for lower Reynolds numbers (airspeeds). A critical heat input was required to initiate the flat-plate oscillating heat pipe, and this heat input increased with Reynolds number. This study further confirms the heating mode directly affects the heat transfer performance of a flat-plate oscillating heat pipe.
Thermal Spreading with Flat-Plate Oscillating Heat Pipes
Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer ; 29 , 2 ; 338-345
2015-04-01
Conference paper , Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Experimental Investigation of Flat-Plate Oscillating Heat Pipe for Thermal Spreading Applications
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2013
|British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000
|SAE Technical Papers | 2000
|Flat-plate /vapor-chamber/ heat pipes
AIAA | 1975
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