International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

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International Journal of Thermal Sciences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijts

Advanced thermal management system based on a novel flat evaporator

loop heat pipe with high-efficiency condenser for electronic cooling
Kangning Xiong a, b, Yuhao Luo b, Yixian Hu b, Shuangfeng Wang b, *
a
State Key Laboratory of Green Building, School of Building Services Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, PR China
b
Key Laboratory of Heat Transfer Enhancement and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China
University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, PR China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Loop heat pipe (LHP) is a high efficient and passive heat transfer device with long heat transfer distance and high
loop heat pipe cooling capacity. In this study, an advanced thermal management system based on a novel flat evaporator LHP
High-efficiency condenser with high-efficiency condenser was proposed to obtain high heat transfer capacity and low energy consumption.
Flat evaporator
Firstly, the cooling efficiency of two cooling heat sink units was evaluated by numerical analysis, and the
Numerical analysis
Heat transfer characteristics
optimization heat sink unit was applied in the LHP condenser. Then, the heat transfer characteristics of the flat
evaporator LHP with high-efficiency condenser were researched under different charging ratios, fan voltages and
LHP test directions. Finally, the energy consumption of the LHP cooling system was evaluated. The numerical
results showed that the novel louver folded fin heat sink unit has a better cooling efficiency than that of the
conventional straight fin heat sink unit. And the experimental results indicated that the flat evaporator LHP with
high-efficiency condenser exhibited better heat transfer characteristics at the input power range from 50 W to
450 W when the charging ratio of LHP was 33.1%. At the maximum input power of 550 W, the junction tem­
perature of the flat evaporator LHP with high-efficiency condenser was 87.93 ◦ C at the fan voltage of 12 V, and
the junction temperature of this LHP at positive gravity direction of 30◦ was lower than that of other LHP test
directions. Additionally, the energy consumption of the efficient air-cooled LHP system was lower than one-
eighteenth of that of the water-cooled LHP system.

electric power consumption. According to the cooling methods, the

cooling systems of electronic devices mainly have two types: air-cooled
1. Introduction
system and liquid-cooled system. At present, the liquid-cooled system
has demonstrated excellent cooling performance, which can remove
In recent years, the thermal management of electronic components
effectively more than 100 W/cm2 power densities for electronic chips
and devices have become a major challenge due to high thermal design
[6]. However, in comparison to the air-cooled system, the liquid-cooled
power and power density [1,2]. For instance, the thermal design power
system requires a large number of auxiliary equipment, such as pump,
of the AMD EPYC 7763 processor and the intel Core i9-10990XE pro­
compressor, flow valve, filter, cooling tower and pipeline, which will
cessor have been up to 280 W and 380 W, respectively. In addition, the
lead to high equipment costs, maintenance costs and management costs
actual power consumption of Core i9-10990XE will exceed 1000 W
[6]. Additionally, some low-toxic, volatile and flammable dielectric
when the electronic chip operates in the full Core 5.0 GHz [3]. Mean­
fluids will result in potential security risks and environmental problem
while, for large-scale electronic devices cooling, energy savings should
[7]. The air-cooled system, as a common cooling technology, has been
also be considered while meeting cooling requirements. For example,
widely applied in cooling electronic chips. Among air-cooled system, the
based on the energy statistics, the electric energy consumption of the
air-cooled heat pipe system is a passive, indirect two-phase cooling
worldwide data center industry was account for about 1.3 % of the world
technology, which has many markedly merits, such as high effective
[4]. For a typical data center, the electric power consumption of cooling
thermal conductivity, low energy consumption, low cost, low thermal
system accounts for about 38 % of the total electric power consumption
resistance, high reliability and non-pollution [8]. According to the
[5]. Therefore, the suitable thermal management technology should be
operating principle and structure, the heat pipe can be divided into
proposed and developed to meet the cooling requirement and save the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sfwang@scut.edu.cn (S. Wang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2023.108719
Received 18 January 2023; Received in revised form 5 September 2023; Accepted 12 October 2023
Available online 26 October 2023
1290-0729/© 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
K. Xiong et al.
Nomenclature
cp constant-pressure specific heat J/(kg⋅K)
D diameter m
H height m
ID inner diameter m
L length m
OD outer diameter m
P power W
p pressure Pa
Q heat load W
R thermal resistance ◦ C/W
T temperature ◦ C
t time s ρ density kg/m3
u, v, w x, y, z velocity components m/s
V volume m3
W width m
x, y, z Cartesian coordinates
conventional heat pipe, micro-heat pipe, pulsating heat pipe (PHP),
sorption heat pipe (SHP), rotating heat pipe (RHP), loop heat pipe
(LHP), and so on [9–11]. Compared with other types of heat pipe, the
LHP has some outstanding advantages, including strong anti-gravity
ability, long distance heat transport, high heat transfer efficiency,
good thermal equilibrium and so on [12–14]. LHP is a long heat transfer
distance, high cooling capacity phase change heat transfer equipment,
which applying the capillary force of capillary wick to circulate the
working medium, and the working medium transfers heat from the
evaporator to the condenser in the cycle process [15–17]. At present,
many researchers have reported the application of air cooling LHP
technology in the thermal management challenge of electronic chips.
Maydanik et al. [18] provided a stainless steel-ammonia LHP with a
cylindrical evaporator measuring 8 mm (OD) × 59 mm (L) and equipped
an effective heating area 40 × 40 mm2 for cooling the 1U server chip.
Their research conclusions showed that the LHP can effectively remove
the heat power of 130 W by the forced air convection at the highest heat
source temperature of 70 ◦ C. And the corresponding minimum total heat
resistance was 0.33 ◦ C/W. Li et al. [19] presented and investigated a
copper-water LHP with a plane, square evaporator measuring 30 × 30 ×
15 mm3 for thermal management of electronic cooling. Their research
results showed that the junction temperature of heating copper block
can be controlled at around 85 ◦ C when the input power was 350W. In
this study, the thermal properties of the LHP were researched in the
direction of positive gravity (+90◦ ). However, the thermal behavior of
LHP in the conventional horizontal orientation has not been reported.
Liu et al. [20] demonstrated and studied a copper-acetone LHP with a
miniature plane type evaporator sizing 40 × 30 × 14.5 mm3 and also
equipped with a 4 mm thick stainless steel mesh wick of 82 layers 500
grids. Their research results displayed that the junction temperature of
heating copper block and the LHP heat resistance were 52 ◦ C and
0.45 ◦ C/W at the input power of 60 W, respectively. Xue et al. [21]
developed and researched an aluminum-ammonia LHP with a plane type
evaporator sizing 54 × 44 × 12 mm3 and outfitted a ceramic heat source
with 40 × 40 mm2 for cooling chip. And the volume of condenser fins for
the air-cooled LHP was 150 × 80 × 23 mm3, with 0.5 mm thickness for
each fin. Their research conclusions presented that at the highest input
power of 513W (32.06 W/cm2), the surface temperature of ceramic
electrical heater was controlled at 72.3 ◦ C, and the LHP heat resistance
and the evaporator heat resistance were 0.058 ◦ C/W and 0.011 ◦ C/W,
respectively. Li et al. [22] devised a new plane type evaporator LHP with
a multi-porosity gradient sintered superhydrophilic wick structure,
without the reservoir to reduce the size of the evaporator as much as
possible. A series of experimental studies found that under fan voltage of
2
International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719
Subscripts
a ambient
c condenser
cc compensation chamber
e evaporator
j junction
l liquid
sys system
tot total
v vapor
Greek symbols
α charging ratio %
μ viscosity kg/(m⋅s)
λ thermal conductivity W/(m⋅K)
24 V, the junction temperature of heating copper block was no more
than 85 ◦ C when the input power reached 150 W (24 W/cm2).
Based on the previous studies of air-cooled LHP, it can be demon­
strated that the air-cooled LHP are hard to limit the temperature of
electronic chips in a reasonable temperature range (normally < 85 ◦ C)
when the power density was larger than 37 W/cm2 [23]. Compared to
liquid cooling technology, the air-cooled LHP have some advantages
such as fewer auxiliary equipment, high safety, non-pollution and low
cost [6–8]. If the cooling capacity of the air-cooled LHP can be further
improved, it will have a broader prospect in electronic chip cooling.
Therefore, in this work, a high-capacity air-cooled LHP with a new
condenser and flat evaporator was proposed for the first time to cool the
high power density electronic chips. Firstly, the cooling efficiency of two
cooling heat sink units is evaluated by numerical simulation study, and
the optimization heat sink unit is applied in the design of LHP
condenser. Then, the impact of charging ratios, fan voltages and LHP test
directions on the heat transfer characteristics of the air-cooled LHP with
a new condenser and flat evaporator are investigated in detail. Finally,
the energy consumption analysis of the air-cooled LHP system is pre­
sented compared with the water-cooled LHP system. In summary, the
comprehensive study demonstrates that the novel air-cooled LHP can
become a promising, low-cost and high-efficiency technology for future
high power density electronic chip cooling.
2. Numerical analysis of heat sink
2.1. Model geometry
In order to reduce the computational burden, some simplified geo­
metric units are often applied in numerical studies. In this work, two
cooling heat sink units, conventional straight fin heat sink (Design 1)
and novel louver folded fin heat sink (Design 2), were used for numerical
study and comparison of cooling efficiency in order to design the effi­
cient LHP condenser, as described in Fig. 1. The conventional straight fin
heat sink (Design 1) and novel louver folded fin heat sink (Design 2)
were made of aluminum alloy. For the Design 2, the louver folded fin
was welded to the middle of straight fins, and the detailed structure of
the partially louver folded fin is presented in Fig. 2. Seen from Fig. 2, the
folded fin unit was provided with louvers at angles of 45◦ and − 45◦ to
enhance the disturbance of the cooling air. In the length direction, every
ten louvers with an angle of 45◦ and − 45◦ were arranged alternately,
and a total of 140 louvers from a folded fin. Additionally, the main
geometric dimensions of the conventional straight fin heat sink (Design
1) and novel louver folded fin heat sink (Design 2) are given in Table 1.
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

Fig. 1. Schematic view of heat sink unit design.

And the relative parameters in the model are written in Table 2. In order
to facilitate the numerical simulation process, the following assumptions
were considered:

● The outer surface of the Design 1 and Design 2 was thermally

insulated.
● The cooling air flowed only in the length direction, and the diffusion
in the height direction was neglected.
● The louver of folded fin was neglected to simplify the settings of the
grid.

2.2. Model equations

The governing equations for the heat sink unit design were presented
as bellows:
Continuity equation:
∂u ∂ν ∂w
+ + =0 (1)
∂x ∂y ∂z

where u, v, w are the velocity components of the fluid in the directions of

x, y, and z, respectively.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the partially folded fin. Momentum equations:
( 2 )
∂(ρu) ∂(ρuu) ∂(ρνu) ∂(ρwu) ∂ u ∂2 u ∂2 u ∂p
Table 1 + + + =μ + + − (2)
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z ∂x2 ∂y2 ∂z2 ∂x
The main geometric dimensions of heat sink unit.
( )
Type Zone Length Width/ Height ∂(ρv) ∂(ρuv) ∂(ρνv) ∂(ρwv) ∂2 v ∂2 v ∂2 v ∂p
(mm) Diameter (mm) + + + =μ + + − (3)
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z ∂x2 ∂y2 ∂z2 ∂y
(mm)

Cooling Design Overall 180 10 40

( )
∂(ρw) ∂(ρuw) ∂(ρνw) ∂(ρww) ∂2 w ∂2 w ∂2 w ∂p
heat 1 dimension + + + =μ + + − (4)
sink Straight fin 180 1 30
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z ∂x2 ∂y2 ∂z2 ∂z
unit Thermal 180 6 –
liquid channel where ρ is density, μ is viscosity, and p is pressure.
Design Overall 180 10 40 Energy equations:
2 dimension ( )
Folded fin 180 8 30 ∂(ρT) ∂(ρuT) ∂(ρνT) ∂(ρwT) λ ∂2 T ∂2 T ∂2 T
Thermal 180 6 –
+ + + = + 2 + 2 + ST (5)
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z cp ∂x 2 ∂y ∂z
liquid channel

where T is temperature, λ is the fluid thermal conductivity, cp is

constant-pressure specific heat, and ST is the term of viscous dissipation.
The thermal fluid inlet, thermal fluid outlet, and side of heat sink unit
Table 2
Relative parameters applied in the model. boundary condition can be defined as below:

Parameter Value Thermal fluid inlet : v = w = 0, T = Tin (6)

Fluid water
Thermal fluid rate 4 L/min ∂T ∂u ∂v ∂w
Thermal fluid outlet : = = = =0 (7)
Thermal fluid temperature 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 ◦ C ∂x ∂x ∂x ∂x
Cooling air temperature 20 ◦ C
Cooling air rate 8.76 m/s ∂u ∂v ∂T
Flow directions of the thermal fluid and cooling air Counter-flow
Side of heat sink unit : v = w = 0, = = =0 (8)
∂z ∂z ∂z

3
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

In which Tin represents the inlet temperature of thermal liquid.

2.3. Grid independence

The grid independence verification is necessary in order to guarantee

the reliability of the numerical simulation results. In this work, the in­
fluence of grid number on the computational results of Design 1 and
Design 2 were studied, and the corresponding results were presented in
Table 3. As presented in Table 3, the relative deviation of the thermal
fluid outlet temperatures for Design 1 was only 0.20 % when the grid
numbers were 655920 cells and 5100354 cells, respectively. Similarly, Fig. 3. An illustration of a novel air-cooled LHP.
the relative deviation of the thermal fluid outlet temperatures for Design
2 was only 0.04 % at the grid numbers of 728280 cells and 6513120
cells, respectively. Therefore, the numerical simulation studies of Design
1 and Design 2 in next work were carried out at the grid numbers of
5100354 cells and 6513120 cells, respectively.

3. Experimental apparatus and procedure

3.1. Description of the novel air-cooled LHP

The air-cooled LHP with a high-efficiency condenser and a new flat

evaporator is proposed and shown in Fig. 3, which was mainly composed
of a flat evaporator, a vapor line, a condensation line, an air-cooled
condenser and a liquid line. Based on the numerical analysis results in
Section 2, the novel louver folded fin heat sink unit is used in the design
of the air-cooled condenser of LHP, and the corresponding air-cooled
condenser structure is illustrated in Fig. 4. It can be observed from
Fig. 4 (a) that the novel air-cooled condenser was mainly consisted of
condenser cover plate, condenser body and fans. The condenser cover
plate and condenser body were provided with the condensation line
bayonet, respectively. And the condensation line bayonet, a typical
serpentine arrangement, was presented in Fig. 4 (b). The condenser body
was provided with 15 channels with measuring 8 mm × 30 mm (W × H).
And the folded fins were provided with some louvers to increase the heat
dissipation area, which were welded to the channel wall of condenser
body. Additionally, three fans with measuring 40 mm × 40 mm × 28
mm (L × W × H) were fixed on the bracket of condensation cover plate
by using M4 bolts. The structure of the new flat evaporator in the
thickness direction was displayed in Fig. 5. As illustrated from Fig. 5, the
capillary wick with sintered 106–150 μm copper powder was designed
with the double rows vapor channels in order to enhance the evapora­
tion area of working fluid. At the same time of enhancing evaporation, it
was necessary to ensure that the working medium in the capillary wick
can be quickly replenished. Therefore, 1 mm thick copper powder (<38
μm) was sintered on the inside surface of the reservoir, which was used
as another method for working medium replenishment. Additionally,
the 1 mm thick sintered copper powder can make stable operation of the
novel air-cooled LHP in more LHP test directions. To increase the
strength of the reservoir wall, two SS304 rings were wrapped in the 1
Fig. 4. The devised novel air-cooled condenser structure.
mm thick sintered copper powder.

The principal design specifications of the novel air-cooled LHP is

Table 3
presented in Table 4. At present, the distilled water has some advan­
Grid independence of heat sink unit.
tages, such as high latent heat value, great thermal stability, non-toxic
Type Number of Inlet Outlet Relative and cheap, which has been widely used as the working medium of
grids temperature temperature (◦ C) deviation (%)
heat pipes. In this work, the distilled water was injected into the new air-
(◦ C)
cooled LHP as the working medium, and the charging ratio can be
Design 12993 80 78.90 – expressed as below:
1 34398 80 78.68 0.28
96096 80 78.42 0.33 V
655920 80 78.23 0.24 α= × 100% (9)
Vtol
5100354 80 78.07 0.20
Design 19624 80 78.29 –
2 37391 80 77.84 0.57
here α defines the charging ratio of distilled water; V is the volume of the
82264 80 77.61 0.30 distilled water; Vtot represents the entire inside volume of LHP.
728280 80 77.47 0.18
6513120 80 77.44 0.04

4
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

Fig. 5. Structural schematic of new flat evaporator in the thickness direction.

3.3. Data reduction

Table 4
The primary design specifications of the new air-cooled LHP.
As significant indicators for evaluating the heat transfer capability of
Components Parameters Value the new air-cooled LHP, the LHP heat resistance RLHP and the entire LHP
Evaporator Length × width × thickness 92 mm × 58.9 mm × 15 mm system heat resistance Rsys in this work were calculated by Eqs. (10) and
Material Copper (11), respectively.
Heating wall Thickness 0.8 mm
Wick Length × width × thickness 45 mm × 57.3 mm × 13.4 mm Te − Tc
Material Copper RLHP = (10)
Q
Vapor channel Length × D 35 mm × 1.5 mm
Reservoir Length × width × thickness 38 mm × 55.3 mm × 13.4 mm
Tj − Ta
Vapor line Length × ID/OD 300 mm × 5/6 mm Rsys = (11)
Condenser line Length × ID/OD 545.5 mm × 5/6 mm Q
Liquid line Length × ID/OD 552.6 mm × 3/4 mm
Charging line Length × ID/OD 20 mm × 3/4 mm In which Tc denotes the mean temperature of air-cooled condenser cover
Vacuum line Length × ID/OD 20 mm × 3/4 mm plate,‾Tc = (Tc1 + Tc2 + Tc3)/3; Q is the input power.
Condenser Length × width × thickness 180 mm × 136 mm × 40 mm
Material Aluminum alloy
In this work, the operating temperature of the air-cooled LHP was
Flow channel Width × height 8 mm × 6 mm obtained at the input power range from 50 W to 750 W. And the oper­
Effective length 416 mm ating temperature error was the largest and did not exceed 0.8 ◦ C when
the input power is 50W.
The uncertainty of RLHP can be defined as follows [24,25]:
3.2. Testing methods
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
( )2 ( )2̅
ΔRLHP ΔQ Δ(ΔT)
In this study, the new air-cooled LHP system experimental device is = + (12)
RLHP Q ΔTec
presented in Fig. 6. The heat sources simulator was a rectangular copper
block with an effective heating area of 30 mm × 30 mm, and assembled where T denotes the temperature; ΔTec represents the temperature dif­
with four calefaction sticks, the highest total input power of which was ference between evaporator and the condenser. Meanwhile, the calcu­
750 W. Additionally, the junction temperature of heat sources simulator lation equation of uncertainty of Rsys was similar to that of RLHP. For
(Tj) can be gained and recorded by using a k-type thermo-couple wire instance, at a horizontal orientation, fan voltage of 10 V, the un­
welded in the effective heating area of the rectangular copper block, as certainties of RLHP and Rsys were estimated to be ±1.93 % and 2.05 % at
demonstrated in Fig. 6(a). Fig. 6(b) displays the locations of the ten k- highest input power of 550 W, respectively.
type thermo-couple wires in air-cooled LHP module. And the twelfth k-
type thermo-couple wires were used to record the testing environment 4. Results and discussion
temperature Ta. The core diameter of all thermocouples was only 0.1
mm to improve the accuracy of the measurement, and its uncertainty 4.1. Optimization of heat sink
was ±0.3 ◦ C. The novel air-cooled LHP module test system is illustrated
in Fig. 6(c). Base on Fig. 6(c), the new air-cooled LHP module test system Structural optimization is one of the most critical means to enhance
was mainly composed of the new air-cooled LHP, a constant temperature the cooling performance of heat sink. In this work, a novel louver folded
and humidity equipment, an Agilent 34970A data collector, a personal fin heat sink unit (Design 2) was designed and analyzed numerically in
computer and the DC power system. The DC power I and II were used as comparison to the conventional straight fin heat sink unit (Design 1).
the input power of the cooled fans and the heat sources simulator, The temperature contours of Design 1 and Design 2 at inlet water tem­
respectively. The maximum uncertainty of the DC power II was esti­ peratures of 40 ◦ C, 50 ◦ C, 60 ◦ C, 70 ◦ C and 80 ◦ C are exhibited in Fig. 7. It
mated to be ±0.5%. The Agilent 34970A data collector with the mea­ can be observed from this figure that the heat sink temperatures of
surement error of ±0.1 ◦ C was employed to collect and present the test Design 1 and Design 2 were increased gradually with the increasing of
point temperature at a time acquisition step of 3s. All thermal perfor­ inlet water temperature from 40 ◦ C to 80 ◦ C. And the heat sink tem­
mance tests were performed at the environment temperature of 20 ± peratures constantly decreased in the direction of thermal fluid flow. In
1 ◦ C by applying the constant temperature and humidity equipment addition, it can be markedly noticed that the temperature distribution of
(BTH-150C, China). Additionally, the junction temperature was main­ Design 2 was lower than that of Design 1 at same inlet water
tained within 100 ◦ C for all thermal tests.

5
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

Fig. 6. The experimental device of the new air-cooled LHP system.

6
K. Xiong et al.
Fig. 7. Temperature contour of Design 1 and Design 2 at different inlet water temperatures.
temperature. In the height direction, the temperature difference be­
tween the bottom and top of Design 2 is larger than that of Design 1,
which indicated that the Design 2 has more efficient cooling capacity
than the Design 1. Therefore, the Design 2 can remove more heat at the
same height of heat sink. The inlet water temperature dependence of the
temperature difference between inlet water temperature and outlet
water temperature (Tinlet - Toutlet) for the Design 1 and Design 2 is
demonstrated in Fig. 8. As noticed from Fig. 8, the temperature differ­
ence (Tinlet - Toutlet) of Design 2 was larger than that of Design 1 at the
inlet water temperature range from 40 ◦ C to 80 ◦ C, which also illustrated
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719
that at same inlet water temperature Design 2 has lower outlet water
temperature and better cooling efficiency. Additionally, the out water
temperature difference between Design 2 and Design 1 was gradually
improved with the increasing of inlet water temperature from 40 ◦ C to
80 ◦ C. At the inlet water temperature of 40 ◦ C, 50 ◦ C, 60 ◦ C, 70 ◦ C and
80 ◦ C, the outlet water temperature (temperature difference (Tinlet -
Toutlet)) of Design 2 were 39.15 ◦ C (0.85 ◦ C), 48.72 ◦ C (1.28 ◦ C), 58.30 ◦ C
(1.7 ◦ C), 67.81 ◦ C (2.19 ◦ C) and 77.44 ◦ C (2.56 ◦ C), respectively.
Similarly, the corresponding outlet water temperature(temperature
difference (Tinlet - Toutlet)) of Design 1 were 39.36 ◦ C (0.64 ◦ C), 49.04 ◦ C
K. Xiong et al.
Fig. 8. Inlet water temperature dependence of the Tinlet-Toutlet for the Design 1
and Design 2.
(0.96 ◦ C), 58.72 ◦ C (1.28 ◦ C), 68.39 ◦ C (1.61 ◦ C) and 78.07 ◦ C (1.93 ◦ C),
respectively. Based on the results of Figs. 7 and 8, the novel louver
folded fin heat sink unit has a significant heat dissipation advantage.
4.2. Heat transfer characteristics of new air-cooled LHP
4.2.1. Effect of LHP charging ratio
The charging ratio of working medium for the LHP is a significant
internal factor impacting the heat transfer capacity of LHP. The large
Fig. 9. Startup process under different input power for a 33.1 % charging ratio.
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719
charging ratio of working fluid can decrease the thermal performance of
LHP. More importantly, the LHP will not startup successfully when the
charging ratio of working medium is lower than the minimum circula­
tion of the LHP. Therefore, the research on the optimized charging ratio
of the LHP is very necessary in order to enhance the thermal perfor­
mance of LHP. Based on the previous research results of novel water-
cooled LHP [24], the thermal performance of the new air-cooled LHP
with charging ratios of 33.1 % and 46.1 % was further studied, including
the startup characteristics, operating characteristics, and comparison of
thermal properties between the new water-cooled LHP and the new
air-cooled LHP.
For a LHP module cooling system, the startup characteristics of the
LHP are important for the thermal performance evaluation. And the
successful startup of the LHP is always a prerequisite for practical
application [26]. In this paper, the startup characteristics of the new
air-cooled LHP with charging ratios of 33.1 % and 46.1 % are demon­
strated in Figs. 9 and 10, respectively. These tests were executed at the
LHP horizontal position, fan voltage of 10 V and the input power of 20
W, 30 W, 40 W and 50 W. According to the description from Fig. 9, the
new air-cooled LHP can successfully started and run at the input power
of 20 W, 30 W, 40 W and 50 W, which mainly through three stages of
temperature rise stage, start-up stage and stable running stage. When the
input power was used to heat the copper block, the junction temperature
of copper block Tj first raised. In the meantime, the evaporator wall
temperature Te was raised immediately. Next, the evaporation of
working medium in the capillary wick and the heat leak from capillary
wick and evaporator wall lead to the increase of evaporator outlet
temperature Tvl and reservoir temperature Tr, respectively. With the
increase of working medium evaporation in the vapor channels, the
pressure difference between the two ends of the capillary wick gradually
increased, and the pressure difference drove the circulation of the
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

Fig. 10. Startup process under different input power for a 46.1 % charging ratio.

working medium in the LHP. Finally, the temperatures, working me­
dium circulation and pressure drop of LHP gradually reached a steady
state. Moreover, all startup processes of the novel air-cooled LHP with
33.1 % charging ratio at the input power of 20 W, 30 W, 40 W and 50 W
can reach a stable running stage before 2500s, and the corresponding
steady-state temperatures were 40.87 ◦ C, 43.07 ◦ C, 44.56 ◦ C and
46.19 ◦ C, respectively. In comparison to the results of Fig. 9, the startup
characteristics of the air-cooled LHP with 46.1 % charging ratio (Fig. 10)
presented a pseudo-startup phenomenon at input power of 20 W and 30
W. And the startup processes of the air-cooled LHP at input power of 20
W and 30 W displayed the regular oscillation phenomenon when the test
time was more than 4750 s and 2150 s, respectively. Based on the results
of Fig. 10(a–b), the regular oscillation amplitude of the condenser inlet
temperature Tv2 was the most obvious compared with other tempera­
tures of the LHP, and corresponding oscillation amplitude was more
than 25 ◦ C. And highest oscillating temperature of junction tempera­
tures Tj at input power of 20 W and 30 W were no more than 55.60 ◦ C
and 59.89 ◦ C. These results explained that the working medium circu­
lation of the air-cooled LHP with 46.1 % charging ratio at input power of
20 W and 30 W was intermittent, and intermittent time of working fluid
circulation was reduced with the enhancing of input power from 20 W to
30 W. Under the input power of 40 W and 50 W, the startup processes of
the novel air-cooled LHP with 46.1 % charging ratio can reach a rela­
tively stable running stage when the test time was more than 3000 s and
1250 s, respectively. And the LHP temperature at the relatively stable
running stage also showed small fluctuations, which main reason may be

Fig. 11. LHP operating characteristics vs input power under different charging ratios: (a) 33.1 %; (b) 46.1 %.

9
K. Xiong et al.
the effect of heat leakage for the reservoir and fan frequency fluctuation.
The mean steady-state junction temperatures Tj for the novel air-cooled
LHP with 46.1 % charging ratio were 56.91 ◦ C and 58.25 ◦ C corre­
sponding to 40 W and 50 W, respectively.
Fig. 11 displays the steady-state operating characteristics of the
novel air-cooled LHP with charging ratios of 33.1 % and 46.1 % at
different input power, including the different testing point temperatures
Tj, Te, Tr, Tv1, and condenser cover plate average temperature‾Tc. As
shown in Fig. 11(a), the pattern of the curve Tr = f (Q) displayed a near
flattened LHP operating curve, which included a variable conductance
mode (VCM) and a constant conductance mode (CCM). When the
operating power did not surpassed 250 W, the temperature Tr of the
novel air-cooled LHP with 33.1 % charging ratio was operating in VCM
stage, which mainly reason may be the impact of heat leak for the
reservoir and working medium circulation. However, the temperature Tr
exhibited a linear increasing trend when the input power was increasing
from 300 W to 550 W. In the whole input power range, the temperature
Tj, Te, and‾Tc was also shown the near linear increasing trend with the
enhancing of input power. At the maximum input power of 550 W, the
steady-state temperature Tj and Te were 92.09 ◦ C and 82.21 ◦ C,
respectively. As demonstrated from Fig. 11(b), the pattern of the curve
Tr = f (Q) for the air-cooled LHP with 46.1 % charging ratio exhibited a
near U-shaped LHP operating curve. And the temperature Tr presented a
near decreasing trend with the enhancing of input power from 50 W to
250 W, while it was constantly gone up as input power was higher than
300 W. The main reason was that the low circulation rate and quantity of
working fluid under low heat loads were difficult to weaken the influ­
ence of heat leakage for the reservoir. And the circulation rate and
quantity of working medium were continuously rose with the improving
of input power, which will result in the decrease of reservoir tempera­
ture. However, when the increased input power reached a higher value,
the effect of the circulation rate and quantity of working medium will
not increase due to the limitation of pipe diameter and charging ratio.
Therefore, the reservoir temperature Tr was constantly gone up when
the input power is more than 300 W. At the maximum input power of
550 W, the steady-state temperature Tj and Te of the air-cooled LHP with
46.1% charging ratio were 90.93 ◦ C and 77.20 ◦ C, respectively. In
comparison to the results of Fig. 11(a) and (b), the temperature Te, Tr
and Tv1 of the air-cooled LHP with 46.1% charging ratio presented a
more obvious U-shaped curve. The reason for this phenomenon was that
the higher charging ratio will result in higher steady-state operating
temperature at low input power.
The operating characteristics of the air-cooled LHP and the water-
cooled LHP at different charging ratios are illustrated in Fig. 12. Based
Fig. 12. Comparison of operating characteristics between air-cooled LHP and
water-cooled LHP.
10
International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719
on the results of Fig. 12, the thermal performance of the air-cooled LHP
with the 33.1 % charging ratio was better than that of the 46.1 % air-
cooled LHP in the input power range of 50–450W. And the junction
temperature difference of air-cooled LHP between 33.1 % charging ratio
and 46.1 % charging ratio constantly reduced with the enhancing of the
input power from 50 W to 450 W. The reason for this result was that the
working medium of reservoir for the air-cooled LHP with a high
charging ratio will absorb more leakage heat, which will result in a
higher junction temperature. However, the increase circulation rate and
quantity of working medium will decrease the influence of heat leakage
with the enhancing of input power. At the maximum of input power of
550 W, the junction temperature of the air-cooled LHP with 33.1 % and
46.1 % charging ratio were 92.09 ◦ C and 90.93 ◦ C, respectively. Simi­
larly, the heat transfer performance of the water-cooled LHP with the
33.1 % charging ratio was also better than that of the 46.1 % water-
cooled LHP when the input power did not exceed 500 W. However,
the junction temperature of the water-cooled LHP with a 46.1 %
charging ratio was lower than that of the water-cooled LHP with a 33.1
% charging ratio in the input power range from 500 W to 750 W. In
addition, the thermal characteristics of the water-cooled LHP at the
same filling ratio were better than that of the air-cooled LHP. And the
junction temperature difference between water-cooled LHP and air-
cooled LHP gradually increased with the increase of the input power.
The principal reason can be that the most of the condensing line of the
air-cooled condenser and water-cooled condenser were in sub-cooled
stage at low input power. In comparison to the water-cooled
condenser, the sub-cooled area of air-cooled condenser was signifi­
cantly reduced with the enhancing of heat load due to low condensing
efficiency. Many factors, including cooling requirements, economic
costs and spatial layout, should be considered for the use of the type of
condenser. Based on some literature reports, the temperature of elec­
tronic chip should not exceed 85 ◦ C to guarantee the stable and safe
operation of the electronic chip. Therefore, the air-cooled LHP with 33.1
% and 46.1 % charging ratio can meet the cooling requirements of 450
W and 500 W electronic chips, respectively. Similarly, the water-cooled
LHP with 33.1 % and 46.1 % charging ratio can efficiently dissipate the
input power of 600 W and 700 W, respectively. Compared with the
water-cooled LHP, the air-cooled LHP has some advantages in the
acceptable range of electronic chip temperature such as less auxiliary
equipment, save energy consumption and low cost. Comprehensive
consideration of the cooling requirements and cooling costs of electronic
chips, the air-cooled LHP with 33.1 % charging ratio was a better cooling
solution when the thermal design power of electronic chips was less than
500 W. On the contrary, only the water-cooled LHP with 46.1 %
charging ratio can meet the heat dissipation requirements of the elec­
tronic chips when the thermal design power of the electronic chip was
500–700 W.
4.2.2. Effect of fan voltage
The fan voltage of air-cooled condenser is a significant factor that
influences the cooling efficiency of the air-cooled LHP. Hence, the input
power dependence of the junction temperature Tj under different fan
voltages and a horizontal position of the air-cooled LHP was presented in
Fig. 13. It is worth noting that the junction temperature of the air-cooled
LHP under the same heat load was constantly reduced with the
improving of fan voltage from 6 V to 12 V. When the input power did not
exceed 200 W, the fan voltage of condenser has insignificant effect on
the heat transfer performance of the air-cooled LHP. The chief reason
can be that the heat transferred of the working medium evaporation is
relatively less at low input power. And the air-cooled condenser was
sufficient for cooling requirements at low fan voltages. However, the
heat transferred of the working medium evaporation was constantly
improved with the enhancing of input power, which will result in the
effect of fan voltage to gradually become obvious. At the maximum
input power of 550 W, the junction temperatures of the air-cooled LHP
were 102.5 ◦ C, 94.14 ◦ C, 92.09 ◦ C and 87.93 ◦ C corresponding to the fan
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

affected by gravity. In this study, the impact of the LHP test directions on
the thermal performance of the air-cooled LHP was studied at the fan
voltage of 12V. The steady-state of junction temperature Tj and the Tj,
Direction i - Tj, Direction 4 are plotted as the function of the input power in
Fig. 16(a) and (b) for the seven LHP test directions, respectively. It can
be found from Fig. 16(a) and (b) that in the input power range of 50
W–250 W, the junction temperature Tj and Tj, Direction i - Tj, Direction 4 of the
air-cooled LHP at the test directions 1–3 is lower than that of the other
LHP test directions due to gravity assisting the return of the working
medium to the reservoir. However, the superiority of thermal perfor­
mance of the air-cooled LHP at the positive gravity test directions 1–3
gradually weakens with the enhancing of the input power. The analysis
for the phenomenon can be that the working medium of reservoir at the
positive gravity test directions 1–3 may not directly contact the capillary
wick, and only relies on sintering copper powder on the inside wall of
the reservoir for the transfer of the working medium. For the anti-gravity
test direction 5, the junction temperature Tj and Tj, Direction i - Tj, Direction 4
of the air-cooled LHP at the test direction 5 is higher than that of the
other LHP test directions at the low input power (≤100 W). This is
Fig. 13. Junction temperature vs input power at different fan voltages.
because under anti-gravity test direction 5 and low input power, low
vapor evaporation makes it more difficult to push the working medium
voltage of 6 V, 8 V, 10 V and 12 V. The relationship between the RLHP,
from the pipeline into the reservoir. However, with the increasing of
Rsys and input power at different fan voltages were exhibited in Fig. 14
input power, the influence of the anti-gravity test direction 5 on the
(a) and (b), separately. The result of Fig. 14 was displayed that the RLHP
thermal performance of the air-cooled LHP gradually decreases due to
was obviously lower than the Rsys. And the RLHP and Rsys were illustrated
the increasing vapor evaporation capacity and low anti-gravity angle
a trend of declining obviously at first and then tending to a constant
(only 5◦ ). On the other hand, the circulation rate of the working medium
value with the increasing of input power. At the input power range from
increases at the relatively high input power. And the working medium of
50 W to 350 W, the RLHP at fan voltage of 6 V was lower than that at
the reservoir was more conducive to transfer to the capillary wick at the
other fan voltages. When the input power was more than 400 W, the
anti-gravity test directions. In the entire input power range from 50 W to
minimum RLHP value of 0.028 ◦ C/W was gained at the input power of
750 W, the thermal performance of the air-cooled LHP at the test di­
500 W and fan voltage of 12 V. At the entire input power range from 50
rections 6, 7 is generally worse than that of the horizontal position due
to 550 W, the Rsys of 0.123 ◦ C/W at fan voltage of 12 V was lower than
to the influence of gravity. At the largest input power of 550 W, the
that at other fan voltages. At the largest input power of 550 W, the Rsys
junction temperature of the air-cooled LHP at LHP test directions 1–7 are
values of 0.154 ◦ C/W, 0.136 ◦ C/W, 0.131 ◦ C/W and 0.123 ◦ C/W were
arranged from small to large as follows: LHP direction 3 < LHP direction
achieved at the fan voltage of 6 V, 8 V, 10 V and 12 V, respectively.
5 < LHP direction 4 < LHP direction 7 < LHP direction 2 < LHP di­
rection 6 < LHP direction 1, and corresponding junction temperature
4.2.3. Effect of LHP test direction
values were 87.27 ◦ C, 87.63 ◦ C, 87.93 ◦ C, 89.36 ◦ C, 91.36 ◦ C, 93.81 ◦ C
The study of LHP test directions is crucial to the thermal performance
and 94.50 ◦ C. Fig. 17(a) and (b) display the relationship between ther­
of the LHP, which can effectively determine the range of the working
mal resistance (RLHP and Rsys) and input power at seven different LHP
position of the LHP and avoid the operation of the LHP in the non-
test directions and the fan voltage of 12 V. It is found here that the RLHP
working range. Seven different air-cooled LHP test directions are illus­
and Rsys shown a tendency of increasing first and then approaching a
trated in Fig. 15. When the position of evaporator is lower than that of
constant value at all LHP test directions. The effect of LHP test directions
condenser, the LHP test directions 1–3 are regarded as the positive
on thermal resistance (RLHP and Rsys) was significant when the input
gravity directions. On the contrary, the LHP test direction 5 is consid­
power was less than 300W. However, when the input power was more
ered as the anti-gravity test direction. The LHP test direction 4 is the
than 300 W, the effect of LHP test directions on thermal resistance (RLHP
horizontal position without gravity assistance. And the LHP test di­
and Rsys) gradually decreased. For the LHP test directions 1–7, the
rections 8 and 9 are the horizontal side directions, which may be
minimum RLHP values of 0.037 ◦ C/W, 0.038 ◦ C/W, 0.025 ◦ C/W,

Fig. 14. The input power dependences of (a) RLHP and (b) Rsys at different fan voltages.

11
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

Fig. 15. Seven test directions of the new air-cooled LHP.

Fig. 16. (a) Junction temperature Tj and (b) Tj, Direction i – Tj, Direction 4 as a function of input power at different LHP test directions.

Fig. 17. (a) RLHP and (b) Rsys as a function of input power at different LHP test directions.

0.028 ◦ C/W, 0.024 ◦ C/W, 0.031 ◦ C/W and 0.029 ◦ C/W were reached at
the input power of 400 W, 550 W, 550 W, 500 W, 550 W, 500 W and 550
W, respectively. And the minimum Rsys values of 0.135 ◦ C/W, 0.131 ◦ C/
W, 0.121 ◦ C/W, 0.123 ◦ C/W, 0.124 ◦ C/W, 0.135 ◦ C/W and 0.128 ◦ C/W
were reached at the input power of 500 W, 550 W, 550 W, 550 W, 550
W, 550 W and 550 W, respectively.
4.3. Comparison of thermal characteristics
At present, many researchers were devoted to the research of LHP for
cooling high power density electronic chips. Compared with the
research of water-cooled LHP, the research of air-cooled LHP is less due
to low heat transfer capacity. However, as a traditional and cheap
cooling technology, some researchers still insist on strengthening the

12
K. Xiong et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719

design to enhance the heat transfer capacity of the air-cooled LHP. In

this paper, a novel, high-efficiency air-cooled LHP was designed and
studied, which can control the junction temperature of a 500 W elec­
tronic chip within 85 ◦ C. To objectively and fairly evaluate the heat
transfer properties of the new air-cooled LHP, the comparison of thermal
properties with many reports were demonstrated in Fig. 18. Based on the
results of Fig. 18(a) and (b), compared with the air-cooled LHP in other
literatures, the heat transfer capacity of the new air-cooled LHP was the
largest, which can reach 500W corresponding power density of 55.56
W/cm2 when the junction temperature was lower than 85 ◦ C. And the
power density of the air-cooled LHP in these literatures was mainly
concentrated between 20 W/cm2 and 40 W/cm2, the research of the
novel air-cooled LHP broadens the heat dissipation capacity of air-
cooled LHP, which will also provide a new heat dissipation technology
for cooling high power density electronic chip.

4.4. Energy consumption analysis

In order to save energy and reduce cost, it is necessary to assess the

Fig. 19. COP vs input power for different LHP cooling systems.
energy consumption of the LHP cooling system. The energy consump­
tion of water-cooled LHP system mainly comes from compressors, pump
and fan. And the power of compressors and pump was selected by the
volume flow velocity and refrigerating capacity, respectively. For the
air-cooled LHP system, the energy consumption came only from the
cooling fans. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the air-cooled LHP
system and water-cooled LHP system can be expressed in Eqs. (12) and
(13), respectively, as follows:
Q
COPair− cooled = (13)
Pfan

Q
COPwater− cooled = (14)
Pcompressor + Ppump + Pfan

where Pfan, Pcompressor, and Ppump are the power of fan, compressor and
pump, respectively.
The COP value of the air-cooled LHP system and water-cooled LHP
system at different operating heat loads for the air cooling condition of
fan voltage 12 V, and the water cooling condition of temperature of
20 ◦ C and volume flow speed of 4 L/min are displayed in Fig. 19. It was
obviously found that the COP value of the air-cooled LHP system was
much larger than that of water-cooled LHP system in the entire input
power range from 50 to 550 W, which indirectly indicated the air-cooled
LHP system was more efficient and energy-saving than the water-cooled
Fig. 20. Total energy consumption in a 5-year period for different LHP cool­
LHP system. At the highest input power of 550 W, the COP value of the
ing systems.
air-cooled LHP system and water-cooled LHP system were 20.37 and

Fig. 18. Comparison of thermal characteristics between this study and other literatures: (a) Junction temperature vs input power; (b) Junction temperature vs power
density. { , the data from references [27,28]; , the data from reference [29]; , the data from reference [22]; , the data from reference [30]; , the data from
reference [31]; , the data from reference [21]; , the data in this work}.

13
K. Xiong et al.
1.08, respectively. In addition, the energy consumption of air-cooled
LHP system and water-cooled LHP system in a 5-year period is shown
in Fig. 20. Contrary to the COP value, the energy consumption of the air-
cooled LHP system was much lower than that of water-cooled LHP
system in the entire input power range from 50 to 550 W. When the
operating time reached 5 years, the energy consumption of the air-
cooled LHP system and water-cooled LHP system were 1182.60 kW h
and 22212.29 kW h, respectively. And the energy consumption of the
air-cooled LHP system was lower than one-eighteenth of that of the
water-cooled LHP system. In general, the energy consumption of the air-
cooled LHP system is lower than that of the water-cooled LHP system on
the premise of the cooling requirements.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, a novel air-cooled flat evaporator LHP with a high-
efficiency condenser was developed for cooling the high power den­
sity chips. Firstly, the cooling capacity of two cooling heat sink units was
analyzed numerically to guide the design of LHP condenser. Then, the
effect of charging ratios, fan voltages and LHP test directions on the heat
transfer performance of the air-cooled LHP were studied in depth. In the
end, the energy consumption of the novel LHP for different cooling
system was evaluated. Main conclusions were shown as follows:
(1) The novel louver folded fin heat sink unit (Design 2) has a better
cooling efficiency than that of the conventional straight fin heat
sink unit (Design 1).
(2) The new air-cooled LHP with a 33.1 % charging ratio can be
successfully started up under input power of 20 W, and presented
a lower junction temperature at input power range from 50 W to
450 W.
(3) The junction temperature of the air-cooled LHP was constantly
reduced with the enhancing of fan voltage from 6 V to 12 V. At
the input power of 550 W, the junction temperature of 87.93 ◦ C
was achieved at the fan voltage of 12 V. And the RLHP, Rsys values
were 0.028 ◦ C/W and 0.123 ◦ C/W, separately.
(4) The LHP test directions have an evident influence on the heat
transfer performance of the new air-cooled LHP. Under the input
power of 550 W, the junction temperature of the air-cooled LHP
at positive gravity direction of 30◦ was lower than that of other
LHP test directions.
(5) The energy consumption of the air-cooled LHP system was lower
than one-eighteenth of that of the water-cooled LHP system.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Kangning Xiong: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
Yuhao Luo: Data curation. Yixian Hu: Writing – review & editing.
Shuangfeng Wang: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Project
administration.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgment
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation
of China (Granted No.52176156).
14
International Journal of Thermal Sciences 196 (2024) 108719
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