Effects of Wall Properties on Temperature-Control Effectiveness of Heating Section in a Thermosiphon Containing PCM Suspensions

This article considers the problem of natural heat transfer in a rectangular thermosiphon to investigate the effects of wall properties (thickness and thermal conductivity) on the heat-transfer characteristics of phase-change-material (PCM) suspension flow. The following parameter ranges were invest...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ching-Jenq Ho, Shih-Ming Lin, Rong-Horng Chen, Chi-Ming Lai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/18/6211
Description
Summary:This article considers the problem of natural heat transfer in a rectangular thermosiphon to investigate the effects of wall properties (thickness and thermal conductivity) on the heat-transfer characteristics of phase-change-material (PCM) suspension flow. The following parameter ranges were investigated: dimensionless loop-wall thickness, 0–0.5; wall-to-fluid thermal-conductivity ratio, 0.1–100; modified Rayleigh number, 10<sup>10</sup>–10<sup>11</sup>; and volumetric fraction of PCM particles, 0–10%. From numerical simulations via the finite-volume approach, it was found that using a pipe with appropriate wall thickness and thermal conductivity containing PCM suspensions for the heating section of a rectangular thermosiphon can effectively control the maximal temperature.
ISSN:2076-3417