Thermal Engineering

Pulsating Heat Pipe Set-up

Pulsating heat pipes
Downsizing of personnel computers and advancing performance of processors has made the way for the development of micro miniature heat pipes to transfer heat from chips to heat sinks. The oscillating or pulsating heat pipe (PHP) is another promising heat transfer device for applications like electronic cabinet cooling. It is simple in structure with a coil filled with certain working fluid in it and extended from the heat source to sink. PHP does not contain any wick structure to return the condensate back to the evaporator section unlike a common heat pipe. Instead, PHP uses the technique of transporting the working fluid by means of differential pressure across vapour plugs from evaporator to condenser and back. The vapour formed at the evaporator is pushed towards the condenser in the form of discrete vapour bubbles amidst pockets of fluid. The vapour gets partially condensed at the condenser and gives the heat and returns to evaporator to complete the cycle. Since PHP is a passive device which makes use of the waste heat of heat-source to drive the vapour plugs and operate in cyclic mode, it is gaining attention of many investigators for possible application of electronic cabinet cooling.

The center based on its success is currently partnering with a private entity and working on a project funded by GOI.