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The Effect of Evaporation on the Capillary Pressure in Heat Pipes
ASME 1991 National Heat Transfer Conference
  • Kevin P. Hallinan, University of Dayton
  • Won Soon Chang, Wright Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
Publication Date
7-1-1991
Abstract

The study deals with the dynamics of the evaporation process in the pores of heat pipe wicks. The qualitative effect of increasing evaporation rates in capillary pumped devices on the capillary pressure is measured near the contact line within the representative pores in the wick. A wedgelike approximation of an evaporating meniscus is employed in the analysis along with a regular perturbation technique and first-order correction to the capillary pressure. It is shown that for an increasing evaporation rate, the capillary pressure increases as a result of evaporation. It is suggested that in liquid-metal heat pipes, the capillary pressure may not be adequately represented by the static capillary pressure, and that the driving capillary pressure should include dynamic contributions in the pressure-drop criterion for determining the capillary limit when designing liquid-metal heat pipes.

Comments

Permission documentation is on file.

Publisher
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Place of Publication
Minneapolis, MN
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Citation Information
Kevin P. Hallinan and Won Soon Chang. "The Effect of Evaporation on the Capillary Pressure in Heat Pipes" ASME 1991 National Heat Transfer Conference (1991)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kevin-hallinan/25/