Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Al2O3–Tricosane Based Heat Pipe Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

The enhancement of operating life cycle of electronic devices necessitates the development of efficient cooling techniques. Therefore, in the present work the effects of employment of Phase Change Material, in the adiabatic section of heat pipe for electronic cooling applications were experimentally and numerically investigated. Tricosane (100 ml) is chosen as PCM in this study, where Al2O3 nanoparticles were dispersed in PCM by an ultrasound mechanism with volume fractions of 0.5, 1 and 2%. Transient thermal behavior of the evaporator, energy storage materials and condenser were studied during the charging process with heating powers of 13, 18 and 23W. The performance of system with Tricosane and nanoparticles improved for 1% concentration and reduced for 2% concentration; which concludes for the optimized doping of nanoparticles. In addition, CFD simulation of heat pipe is carried out for the above mentioned opertating conditions. The experimental and simulation results were compared at various operating conditions to establish correlation between them. The numerical results observed to match closely with experimental results. Finally, the thermal performance of heat pipe-PCM module is predicted through CFD simulation for the filling volumes of 115 cc and 130 cc at 13 W, 18 W and 23 W.