Erscheint 4 Ausgaben pro Jahr
ISSN Druckformat: 2151-7975
ISSN Online: 2151-7991
INVESTIGATION OF ENTRAINMENT THROUGH FOLDED POROUS METALLIC MESH SCREENS
ABSTRAKT
Porous metallic mesh screens are utilized as wicking materials in the evaporators of conventional heat pipes because of their capillary pumping capabilities. They also provide large surface area for heat transfer in the evaporators. A similar wick is employed in a novel Entrainment Assisted Microporous Thermal Management (EAMTM) device for thermal management of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). In this screen, the vapor leaving the evaporator pulls liquid along with it, entraining liquid; and unlike the conventional LHPs, the quality of the two-phase mixture leaving the evaporator is as low as 0.2. Understanding entrainment through these screens is crucial for operating the device with different working fluids. In addition to its structural (geometrical) similarities, it is also hypothesized that this heat transfer device behaves similar to a conventional loop heat pipe (LHP) at high operational powers and therefore, its operation is compared to a conventional LHP throughout this paper. This theoretical paper identifies two possible operating regimes (low and high power operation) and discusses their physical model. These physical models are comprehensively studied to understand the operating behavior of the device. This paper also reviews a simplified mathematical model (both thermal and fluid flow models) of the device for highlighting the operation of the same. The primary objective of this research is to understand the operation of this device and therefore, this paper focuses on a theoretical understanding of entrainment within these screens.