The gas controlled heat pipe as a tool for wetting studies
Abstract
A new method is presented for measuring the wetting angle at high temperatures and vapor pressures; it consists of a combination of the classical sessile drop method with a gas buffered heat pipe. A T-shaped heat pipe with two gas buffers was built specifically for the study of sodium wetting. The experience gained from its operation is reported. It is concluded that the gas buffered heat pipe is well suited to overcome the temperature limitations of the present methods of wetting angle measurements. The gas plug gives very efficient protection of observation windows and feed-throughs provided a stable gas-vapor stratification is realized; however, the new method can be limited by the optical transparency of the vapor of the metal under study. In the case of sodium, this limit lies for incandescent light at about 720 C, i.e., about 200 C above the upper temperature limit of the present methods.
- Publication:
-
Heat Pipes
- Pub Date:
- 1976
- Bibcode:
- 1976hepi.rept..327B
- Keywords:
-
- Buffers (Chemistry);
- Gas Flow;
- Heat Pipes;
- Wetting;
- Angles (Geometry);
- Film Condensation;
- Heat Transfer;
- Liquid Metals;
- Liquid Sodium;
- Metal Vapors;
- Performance Tests;
- Temperature Control;
- Vapor Pressure;
- Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer