Experimental Observation of Natural Convection Heat Transfer Performance of a Rectangular Thermosyphon

Abstract

This study experimentally investigates the natural convection heat transfer performance of a rectangular thermosyphon with an aspect ratio of 3.5. The experimental model is divided into a loop body, a heating section, a cooling section, and two adiabatic sections. The heating section and the cooling section are located in the vertical legs of the rectangular loop. The length of the vertical heating section and the length of the upper and lower horizontal insulation sections are 700 mm and 200 mm, respectively, and the inner diameter of the loop is 11 mm. The relevant parameters and their ranges are as follows: the input thermal power is 30−60 W (with a heat flux in the range of 60−3800 W/m2); the temperature in the cooling section is 30, 40, or 50 °C; and the potential difference between the hot and cold sections is 5, 11, or 18 for the cooling section lengths of 60, 45, and 30 cm, respectively. The results indicate that the value of the dimensionless heat transfer coefficient, the Nusselt number, is generally between 5 and 10. The heating power is the main factor affecting the natural convection intensity of the thermosyphon.

Keywords

• heat transfer
• energy
• thermosyphon
• natural circulation loop