A numerical model for transport in flat heat pipes considering wick microstructure effects
Abstract
A transient, three-dimensional model for thermal transport in heat pipes and vapor chambers is developed. The Navier-Stokes equations along with the energy equation are solved numerically for the liquid and vapor flows. A porous medium formulation is used for the wick region. Evaporation and condensation at the liquid-vapor interface are modeled using kinetic theory. The influence of the wick microstructure on evaporation and condensation mass fluxes at the liquid-vapor interface is accounted for by integrating a microstructure-level evaporation model (micromodel) with the device-level model (macromodel). Meniscus curvature at every location along the wick is calculated as a result of this coupling. The model accounts for the change in interfacial area in the wick pore, thin-film evaporation, and Marangoni convection effects during phase change at the liquid-vapor interface. The coupled model is used to predict the performance of a heat pipe with a screen-mesh wick, and the implications of the coupling employed are discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Vapor chamber; Heat spreader; Heat pipe model; Evaporation; Wick structure; Electronics cooling; MATHEMATICAL-MODEL; EVAPORATION; NANOTUBES; FLUXES
DOI
10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2010.09.057
Citation
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Volume 54, Issues 1–3, 15 January 2011, Pages 153–168
Date of this Version
1-15-2011
Recommended Citation
Ranjan, Ram; Murthy, Jayathi Y.; Garimella, Suresh V.; and Vadakkan, Unnikrishnan, "A numerical model for transport in flat heat pipes considering wick microstructure effects" (2011). Birck and NCN Publications. Paper 782.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2010.09.057