Numerical Investigation on the Dielectric Working Fluid Effect on the Flow and Thermal Parameters of an Electrohydrodynamic Flat Heat Pipe

Abstract

The present work highlights the impact of the working dielectric fluid on the flow and the thermal parameters of an axially grooved flat mini heat pipe (FMHP) submitted to Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) effects. Three dielectric working fluids are considered: pentane, R123, and R141b. A model is developed by considering the Laplace-Young, mass, momentum, and energy balance equations. The numerical results show that the electric field affects the liquid distribution along the heat pipe and helps the condensate to flow back to the evaporator section. Moreover, under the electric field conditions, the vapor pressure drop increases, however, the liquid pressure drop decreases. The effect of the electric field on the liquid velocity depends on the FMHP zone, and the vapor velocity is hardly affected by the EHD effects. Furthermore, lower capillary driving pressures are required to provide the necessary capillary pumping under EHD conditions. Besides, pentane allows for higher vapor pressure drops compared to those obtained with R123 and R141b, while the liquid pressure drops are highest for R123. It is found that with R123, the liquid velocity is higher than that reached with R141b and pentane. It is also demonstrated that the capillary limit increases under EHD conditions, and for R141b, the capillary limit is the highest either in zero-field and EHD conditions. Best heat pipe thermal performances are observed for wide and deep grooves with R141b. Finally, the optimum fill charge allowing the maximum heat transfer capacity is determined for each working fluid and different groove dimensions. It is shown that the optimum fill charge is hardly affected by the electric field whatever the working fluid. R123 requires the highest optimum fill charge, however, the heat transport capacity of the FMHP is the lowest when using this working fluid.