Study on a heat pipe

The objective of this study was to analyze heat pipe operating limits. Sintered powders were used as the wick, and pure water and Freon 113 as the working fluid. Two types of experiments were undertaken: the first involved independent studies of wick characteristics, friction losses and capillary properties. The second involved the measurement of maximum heat transfer rates. The simplified model was developed for predicting the maximum heat transfer rates of capillary limits. The agreement between predicted and experimental maximum heat-transfer rates was good.