Experimental analysis of the evaporation of a thin liquid film deposited on a capillary heated tube: estimation of the local heat transfer coefficient

The aim of this work is to estimate the local heat flux and heat transfer coefficient for the case of evaporation of thin liquid film deposited on capillary heated channel: it plays a fundamental role in the two-phase heat transfer processes inside mini-channels. In the present analysis it is investigated a semi-infinite slug flow (one liquid slug followed by one single vapour bubble) in a heated capillary copper tube. The estimation procedure here adopted is based on the solution of the inverse heat conduction problem within the wall domain adopting, as input data, the temperature field on the external tube wall acquired by means of infrared thermography

A novel pyroelectric generator utilising naturally driven temperature fluctuations from oscillating heat pipes for waste heat recovery and thermal energy harvesting

Low temperature thermal to electrical energy converters have the potential to provide a route for recovering waste energy. In this paper, we propose a new configuration of a thermal harvester that uses a naturally driven thermal oscillator free of mechanical motion and operates between a hot heat source and a cold heat sink. The system exploits a heat induced liquid-vapour transition of a working fluid as a primary driver for a pyroelectric generator. The two-phase instability of a fluid in a closed looped capillary channel of an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) creates pressure differences which lead to local high frequency temperature oscillations in the range of 0.1–5 K. Such temperature changes are suitable for pyroelectric thermal to electrical energy conversion, where the pyroelectric generator is attached to the adiabatic wall of the OHP, thereby absorbing thermal energy from the passing fluid. This new pyroelectric-oscillating heat pipe (POHP) assembly of a low temperature generator continuously operates across a spatial heat source temperature of 55 °C and a heat sink temperature of 25 °C, and enables waste heat recovery and thermal energy harvesting from small temperature gradients at low temperatures. Our electrical measurements with lead zirconate titanate (PZT) show an open circuit voltage of 0.4 V (AC) and with lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PMN-PT) an open circuit voltage of 0.8 V (AC) at a frequency of 0.45 Hz, with an energy density of 95 pJ cm−3 for PMN-PT. Our novel POHP device therefore has the capability to convert small quantities of thermal energy into more desirable electricity in the nW to mW range and provides an alternative to currently used batteries or centralised energy generation

A novel pyroelectric generator utilising naturally driven temperature fluctuations from oscillating heat pipes for waste heat recovery and thermal energy harvesting

Low temperature thermal to electrical energy converters have the potential to provide a route for recovering waste energy. In this paper, we propose a new configuration of a thermal harvester that uses a naturally driven thermal oscillator free of mechanical motion and operates between a hot heat source and a cold heat sink. The system exploits a heat induced liquid-vapour transition of a working fluid as a primary driver for a pyroelectric generator. The two-phase instability of a fluid in a closed looped capillary channel of an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) creates pressure differences which lead to local high frequency temperature oscillations in the range of 0.1–5 K. Such temperature changes are suitable for pyroelectric thermal to electrical energy conversion, where the pyroelectric generator is attached to the adiabatic wall of the OHP, thereby absorbing thermal energy from the passing fluid. This new pyroelectric-oscillating heat pipe (POHP) assembly of a low temperature generator continuously operates across a spatial heat source temperature of 55 °C and a heat sink temperature of 25 °C, and enables waste heat recovery and thermal energy harvesting from small temperature gradients at low temperatures. Our electrical measurements with lead zirconate titanate (PZT) show an open circuit voltage of 0.4 V (AC) and with lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PMN-PT) an open circuit voltage of 0.8 V (AC) at a frequency of 0.45 Hz, with an energy density of 95 pJ cm−3 for PMN-PT. Our novel POHP device therefore has the capability to convert small quantities of thermal energy into more desirable electricity in the nW to mW range and provides an alternative to currently used batteries or centralised energy generation

A novel pyroelectric generator utilising naturally driven temperature fluctuations from oscillating heat pipes for waste heat recovery and thermal energy harvesting

Low temperature thermal to electrical energy converters have the potential to provide a route for recovering waste energy. In this paper, we propose a new configuration of a thermal harvester that uses a naturally driven thermal oscillator free of mechanical motion and operates between a hot heat source and a cold heat sink. The system exploits a heat induced liquid-vapour transition of a working fluid as a primary driver for a pyroelectric generator. The two-phase instability of a fluid in a closed looped capillary channel of an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) creates pressure differences which lead to local high frequency temperature oscillations in the range of 0.1–5 K. Such temperature changes are suitable for pyroelectric thermal to electrical energy conversion, where the pyroelectric generator is attached to the adiabatic wall of the OHP, thereby absorbing thermal energy from the passing fluid. This new pyroelectric-oscillating heat pipe (POHP) assembly of a low temperature generator continu- ously operates across a spatial heat source temperature of 55 C and a heat sink temperature of 25 C, and enables waste heat recovery and thermal energy harvesting from small temperature gradients at low temperatures. Our electrical measurements with lead zirconate titanate (PZT) show an open circuit voltage of 0.4 V (AC) and with lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PMN-PT) an open circuit volt- age of 0.8 V (AC) at a frequency of 0.45 Hz, with an energy density of 95 pJ cm 3 for PMN-PT. Our novel POHP device therefore has the capability to convert small quantities of thermal energy into more desirable electricity in the nW to mW range and provides an alternative to currently used batteries or centralised energy generation

VISUALISATION OF FLOW PATTERNS IN FLAT PLATE PULSATING HEAT PIPE: INFLUENCE OF HYDRAULIC BEHAVIOUR ON THERMAL PERFORMANCES

In this experimental study, a specific flat plate pulsating heat pipe (FPPHP) with ethanol as working fluid has been tested. The experimental test bench consists of a copper block at the surface of which a single 10 turns groove has been machined. A transparent glass pressed in front of the top surface and two high speed cameras allow the fluid flow patterns to be visualized during the operations. Thus, the analysis of the synchronized recorded images permits to link the hydraulic behavior of the fluid inside the PHP to its thermal response as regards operating conditions (heat power applied, cooling temperature, inclination). A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the results show that in vertical position the flow pattern are almost always annular whatever the heat power applied, with liquid storage in some adjacent channels; in horizontal position, the evaporator is progressively dried out with some oscillations for specific heat powers. Lastly by putting the PHP in an original orientation with the gravity, named edge orientation, the fluid motion is transmitted from one branch to another sequence, induced by the pressure difference increased by the gravity forces between channels

Thermographic Investigation on Fluid Oscillations and Transverse Interactions in a Fully Metallic Flat-Plate Pulsating Heat Pipe

The present investigation deals with the quantification of fluid oscillation frequencies in a metallic pulsating heat pipe tested at varying heat loads and orientations. The aim is to design a robust technique for the study of the inner fluid dynamics without adopting typical experimental solutions, such as direct fluid visualizations through transparent inserts. The studied device is made of copper, and it is partially filled with a water-ethanol mixture (20 wt.% of ethanol). Heat fluxes locally exchanged between the working fluid and the device walls are first assessed through the inverse heat conduction problem resolution approach by processing outer wall temperature distributions acquired by thermography. The estimated local heat transfer quantities are therefore processed to quantify the fluid oscillatory behavior in every device branch during the intermittent flow and full activation regimes, thus providing a deeper insight into the heat transfer modes. After dealing with a further validation of the inverse approach in terms of oscillation frequency restoration capability, the wall-to-fluid heat fluxes referred to each channel are processed by means of the wavelet method. Scalograms and power spectra of the considered signals are presented for a time-based analysis of the working fluid oscillations, as well as for the identification of dominant oscillation frequencies. Fluid motion is then quantified in terms of the continuity of fluid oscillations and activity of channels by applying a scalogram denoising technique named K-means clustering method. Moreover, a statistical reduction of the channel-wise dominant oscillation frequencies is performed to provide useful references for the interpretation of the overall oscillatory behavior. The link between oscillations and transverse interactions is finally investigated. The vertical bottom-heated mode exhibits stronger fluid oscillations with respect to the horizontal mode, with fluid oscillation frequencies ranging from 0.78 up to 1 Hz. Nonetheless, the fluid motion is more stable in terms of oscillation frequency between channels when the device operates in the horizontal orientation probably due to negligible buoyancy effects. Moreover, thermal interactions between adjacent channels are found to be stronger when the oscillatory behavior presents similar features from channel to channel in horizontal orientation. The proposed method for fluid oscillation analyses in fully metallic flat-plate pulsating heat pipes can be effectively adopted to other flat-plate layouts without any need for transparent windows, thus reducing the overall complexity of experimental set-ups and providing, at the same time, a good insight into the inner fluid dynamics