SEMINAR

ON
“HEAT PIPES”

PRESENTED BY:
Vikash naik
REGD.NO.-0401227241
 WHAT IS A HEAT PIPE

 Heat pipe is a simple device that can quickly

transfer heat from one point to another.
 They are often referred to as the
"superconductors" of heat as they possess an
extra ordinary heat transfer capacity & rate
with almost no heat loss.
 The idea of heat pipes was first suggested by
R.S.Gaugler in 1942.In 1963, G.M.Grover invented
its remarkable properties & serious development
began.
 CONSTRUCTION
 It consists of a sealed hollow tube
using thermoconductive metal such as
copper or aluminium.
 On the internal side of the tube's

side-walls a wick structure exerts a

capillary force.
 It is similar to a thermosyphon. The

pipe Consists of a small amount of

coolant and the rest of the pipe is filled
 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Three basic components of a heat pipe

are:
 the container
 the working fluid
 the wick or capillary structure
 CONTAINER
 The function of the container is to
isolate the working fluid from the
outside environment.

 It has to therefore be leak-proof,

maintain the pressure differential across
its walls, and enable transfer of heat to
take place from and into the working
fluid.

 Selection of the container material

depends on Compatibility (both with
working fluid and external environment)
,Strength to weight ratio ,Thermal
conductivity ,Porosity
 Working fluid
 The pipe contains a small quantity of a "working
fluid" or coolant (such as water, ethanol or
mercury) with the remainder of the pipe being
filled with vapour phase of the working fluid.
 The materials and coolant chosen depends on the
temperature conditions in which the heat pipe
must operate, with coolants ranging from liquid
helium for extremely low temperature applications
to mercury for high temperature conditions.
However, the vast majority of heat pipes uses
either ammonia or water as working fluid.
 Wick or Capillary Structure
 The prime purpose of the wick
is to generate capillary pressure
to transport the working fluid
from the condenser to the
evaporator.
 This is typically a sintered
metal powder or a series of
grooves parallel to the tube
axis, but it may in principle be
any material capable of soaking
up the coolant.

Working
Inside the container is a
liquid under its own pressure,
that enters the pores of the
capillary material, wetting all
internal surfaces.
 Applying heat at any point
along the surface of the heat
pipe causes the liquid at that
point to boil and enter a
vapor state.When that
happens,the liquid picks up
the latent heat of
vaporization.
 Contd…
 The gas, which then has a higher
pressure, moves inside the sealed
container to a colder location where it
condenses.
 Thus, the gas gives up the latent heat of
vaporization and moves heat from the
input to the output end of the heat pipe.
 Contd…
 Heat pipes have an effective
thermal conductivity many
times that of copper.
 The heat transfer or transport

capacity of a heat pipe is

Specified by its " Axial Power
Rating (APR)“.
 . It is the energy moving axially
 along the pipe. The larger the heat pipe diameter,
greater is the APR. Similarly, longer the heat pipe
lesser is the APR. Heat pipes can be built in almost
any size and shape.
 ADVANTAGES
 The advantage of heat pipes is their great
efficiency in transferring heat. They are actually
a vastly better heat conductor than an
equivalent cross-section of solid copper. Heat
flows of more than 230MW/m^2 have been
recorded (4 times the heat flow from the
surface of the sun).
 Heat pipes contain no moving parts and
typically require no maintenance.
 relatively space efficient.
 LIMITATIONS
 below a certain temperature, the working
fluid will not vaporize at all, and the
thermal conductivity will be reduced to
that of the solid metal casing .
 When heated above a certain
temperature, all of the working fluid in the
heat pipe will vaporize and the
condensation process will cease to occur;
in such conditions thermal conductivity will
be reduced to that of the solid metal
casing.
 APPLICATIONS
 Heat pipes are used in a wide range of products
like air-conditioners, refrigerators, heat
exchangers, transistors, capacitors, space
staction,etc.
 Heat pipes are also used in laptops to reduce the
working temperature for better
efficiency.
 VAPIPE is recent developed heat pipe used in a
car engine to vaporise gasoline by exhaust gases
.
THANK YOU….