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Chapter

Thermosyphon Heat Pipe

Technology
Bala Abdullahi, Raya K. Al-dadah and Sa’ad Mahmoud

Abstract

Heat pipes play vital roles in increasing heat transfer performance of many
engineering systems such as solar collectors and this leads to an increase in their
usage. Investigation on the performance of heat pipes under different operation
conditions and inclination angles is required for effective utilization. In this chapter,
a general overview on the construction, operation, advantages, and classifications of
heat pipes is presented. Particular attention is given to the heat pipe without wick
material in the inner diameter (thermosyphon). Intensive discussions are presented
on the construction, operations, advantages and applications of thermosyphon heat
pipe. The experimental and numerical approaches on the performance evaluation
and characterization of thermosyphon are discussed. A detailed procedure on how
experimental work is carried out on thermosyphon is discussed including
instrumentation and calibration of the devices. Modelling and simulation of the
performance of thermosyphon are discussed, including the model set-up procedure.
Factors affecting the performance of thermosyphon such as fill ratio, working fluid,
heat input, inclination angles, are analysed based on the overall thermal resistance
and thermosyphon performance. Current researches on the effects of major factors
affecting the operation of thermosyphon are presented, as well as their current
development and various applications in engineering systems.

Keywords: thermosyphon, evaporator, condenser, thermal resistance,

inclination angle

1. Introduction

The world’s needs for effective heat transfer devices/mechanisms are increasing so
as to minimize heat losses, minimize systems cost, enhance heat removal and trans-
portation as well as to increase lifespan of some devices. In some instances, heat is
required to be removed from a system (like solar photovoltaic, electrical devices,
turbine blades, etc.) in order to keep it at a certain operation temperature, while in
other cases, it is required to be transferred to a certain region to keep it at high
temperature. Some elements/metals such as copper and aluminium are found to be
good conductors of heat as they transfer heat effectively from one region to another.
Their ability to transfer heat effectively is due to their molecular arrangements and
type of bonds between their molecules. Various systems such as aircraft, electronics,
heat exchangers, solar collectors, etc. require effective means of heat transfer. One of
the devices recognized as effective means of heat transfer is heat pipe, whose idea was
introduced by Graugler in 1942, but its first unit was invented by Grover in 1962;

1
Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

then, its important properties were studied and identified, and its development
started [1]. Hence, with the growing need for efficient heat transfer devices, interest
in the use of heat pipes for various applications is increasing due to the roles they play
in improving the thermal performance of solar collectors and heat exchangers partic-
ularly in energy savings and increasing efficiency of the systems.
Heat pipe is an efficient two-phase heat transfer device which uses latent heat of
fluids to transfer energy from one place to another by means of simultaneous
evaporation and condensation in a sealed container. It consists of evaporator and
condenser sections with or without adiabatic section in between them. Depending
on the type, heat pipe may have wick materials on its internal surface where the
simultaneous evaporation and condensation take place in the wick structure. In
such types of heat pipe, evaporator section can be placed at the top, since the wick
structure can return the condensate from the condenser section against gravity.
Hence, in a wick heat pipe, the condensed liquid is returned to the evaporator by
capillary effects with the assistance of the wick materials as shown in Figure 1.
However, many applications do not require inserting wick material on the inner
surface of the pipe, because the condenser section can be placed at the top, so that the
condensed liquid returns to the evaporator by gravity. This type of wickless heat pipe
is called thermosyphon as shown in Figure 2 Hence, for thermosyphon, the con-
denser must be above the evaporator, while for the wick heat pipe, the capillary forces
in the wick ensure the condensate returns to the evaporator regardless of its position.

1.1 Working principles of heat pipe

Heat pipes consist of sealed vessel usually made from aluminium or copper with
or without wick material lined on the inner surface and working fluid charged
under a vacuum condition. It is made up of two main sections: evaporator, where
the working fluid absorbs heat, and condenser, where the working fluid rejects heat
(Figures 1 and 2). As heat is added to the working fluid in the evaporator section, it
evaporates into vapour when it reaches its saturation temperature. It rises to the
condenser with the assistance of buoyancy force and due to the vapour pressure
difference between the two sections. The liquid condenses by giving out its

Figure 1.
Operation of wick heat pipe [2].

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Figure 2.
Operation of thermosyphon [2].

enthalpy to the cooling water in the condenser section and returns back to the
evaporator for another cycle.

1.2 Advantages of heat pipe

Heat pipes offer advantages over other heat transfer devices used for various
applications in engineering systems. The technology has undergone rapid develop-
ment due to their operational advantages [3]. Some of these advantages include:

i. High thermal conductivity: In terms of heat transfer, heat pipes are better
than the best conductor; hence, they are referred to as ‘superconductors’.

ii. Light weight.

iii. Efficient heat transfer.

iv. Flexibility in design.

v. Isothermal operation.

vi. Tolerance to freezing, shock and vibration.

vii. Low cost.

1.3 Classifications of heat pipe

There are different types of heat pipes, classified based on [4]:

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Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

I.Nature of fluid circulation, such as capillary driven, rotating heat pipes, flat
plate, two-phase close thermosyphon, etc.

II.Control of heat transfer: They are ‘controlled heat pipes’, such as variable-
conductive, thermal switch and thermal diode.

III.Electrostatics-driven heat pipes such as electro hydrodynamic heat pipe.

IV.Osmosis-driven heat pipe such as osmotic heat pipe.

V.Others including inverse, micro, reciprocating, cryogenic, capillary pumped

loop heat pipes, etc.

1.4 Applications of heat pipe

Due to the advantages of heat pipes, the technology found its applications in
many fields of engineering such as:

i. Spacecraft thermal control [5]: the first test of heat pipe in space was in 1967
[6] and the first heat pipe used for satellite thermal control was on GEOS-B
launched from Vanderburgh Air force Base in 1968 [7].

ii. Component cooling, temperature control and radiator design in satellites.

Other applications include moderator cooling, removal of heat from the
reactor at emitter temperature and elimination of troublesome thermal
gradients along the emitter and collector in spacecraft.

iii. Heat pipes for dehumidification and air conditioning: The heat pipe is
designed to have one section in the warm incoming stream and the other in
the cold outgoing stream. By transferring heat from the warm return air to
the cold supply air, the heat pipes create the double effect of pre-cooling the
air before it goes to the evaporator and then re-heating it immediately.

iv. Heat exchangers [8].

v. Solar energy systems [9, 10] as shown in Figure 3.

vi. Electronic cooling [12, 13], etc.

Figure 3.
Developed thermosyphon heat pipe solar collector [11].

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1.5 Difference between wick heat pipe and thermosyphon

The wick and wickless (thermosyphon) heat pipes have many features in com-
mon in their construction, operation and applications. However, they differ in some
aspects such as:

a. Wick material: unlike in thermosyphon, wick materials are lined on the inner
parts of the wick heat pipe. This enables the return of the condensed liquid
even against gravity.

b.Orientation of the pipes: the condenser section of the thermosyphon must be

located at the top of the evaporator because the return of the condensate is
basically by gravity, while in the case of the wick heat pipe, the evaporator can
be placed at the top because the return of the condensate is based on the
capillary effects due to the presence of the wick materials.

c. Need of adiabatic section: thermosyphon may or may not have adiabatic

section whereas most of the wick heat pipes have it, as to separate the
evaporation and condensing sections.

d.When working fluid is charged into the sealed container, it forms a liquid pool
(in case of thermosyphon) while in case of wick heat pipe, it saturates the wick
materials.

2. Thermosyphon heat pipe

This is a natural fluid circulation heat pipe which has no wick material presence.
It is a simple heat pipe consisting of a sealed vessel charged with working fluid
under a vacuum condition. It is made up of evaporator and condenser sections,
sometimes with adiabatic section in between them. The vessel is usually made from
aluminium or copper to facilitate high conduction of heat. Unlike wick heat pipe,
the condenser of thermosyphon must be at the top, for the condensed liquid to
return to the evaporator under gravity. Furthermore, some applications of
thermosyphon require that the pipe be tilted to an angle from the horizontal for it to
have maximum exposure to solar radiation [9, 14–16].

2.1 Construction of thermosyphon heat pipe

Thermosyphon is a vessel closed at both ends and attached with a small charging
pipe placed at one of the ends. The air in the vessel is evacuated creating a vacuum,
then charged with working fluid through the charging pipe. The pipe is usually
divided into the following sections:

i. Evaporator, where heat is supplied to the working fluid.

ii. Adiabatic section (optional): space between evaporator and condenser,

where no heat or cooling is applied.

iii. Condenser, where the vapour from the evaporator section of thermosyphon
heat pipe is condensed usually by cooling water flowing through a water jacket.

iv. Insulation: the evaporator section is insulated to minimize heat losses.

5
Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

The materials for the manufacturing of thermosyphon are carefully selected to

ensure its effective performance. Other considerations are the type and the quantity
of working fluid to be charged into the pipe.

2.2 Operation of thermosyphon heat pipe

The working principles of thermosyphon are similar to that of the wick heat pipe,
but differ in the process of the return of the condensed liquid in the condenser due to
the absence of wick structure. For proper operation of thermosyphon, the condenser
is placed at the top of the evaporator so that the condensed liquid will return to the
evaporator by gravity. Figures 4 and 5 show a schematic diagram and a model of a
typical thermosyphon (constructed in the University of Birmingham, UK) with heat
supplied by coil of wire and heat rejected to the flowing water in the water jacket
provided on the condenser section [17]. However, in some operation set ups, the heat
can be supplied by hot water surrounding the evaporator of the pipe.

2.2.1 Operation limits of heat pipe

Heat pipe (with or without wick materials) operates within certain limits which
are shown in Figure 6. For the heat pipe to operate, the maximum capillary
pumping pressure must be greater than the total pressure drop; thus:

ΔPc, max ≥ ΔPl þ ΔPv þ ΔPg (1)

The pressure drop is the sum of the following:

ΔPl = Pressure drop necessary for the liquid to return from the condenser to the
evaporator.
ΔPv = Pressure drop necessary for the vapour to rise from the evaporator to the
condenser.
ΔPg = Pressure due to gravity whose value depends on the angle of inclination of
the pipe.
If condition in Eq. (1) is not met (capillary limit), then the wick materials will
dry out and the pipe will not operate. Detailed discussions on the heat pipe limits
(shown in Figure 6) are available in heat pipe books, which can be referred.

Figure 4.
Dimensions of a typical thermosyphon with water manifold [17].

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Thermosyphon Heat Pipe Technology
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Figure 5.
3D view of a typical thermosyphon pipe.

Figure 6.
Limitation of heat pipe for heat transport.

2.3 Advantages of thermosyphon over wick heat pipe

Apart from the general advantages of heat pipe, thermosyphon has other
advantages over wick heat pipe, some of which are listed below:

i. Relative low-temperature difference between the heat source and heat sink

ii. More compactness

iii. High durability and reliability

iv. Cost-effectiveness

v. Less weight due to the absence of wick materials

vi. Simplicity in construction

2.4 Measurement of the performance of thermosyphon

The performance of thermosyphon under different conditions is evaluated based

on the overall thermal resistance Rth , given by:

T ae T ac
Rth ¼ (2)
Q in

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Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

where T ae and T ac are respectively the average temperatures on the evaporator

and condenser while Q in is the heat supplied to the evaporator.
However, the performance of the thermosyphon can also be calculated as the
ratio of the heat transfer to the cooling water to the heat input as [18]:

η ¼ Q out =Q in (3)

The rate of heat transfer to the cooling water, Q out , can be evaluated by:

_ p ðT out
Q out ¼ mC T in Þ (4)

where T in and T out are respectively the inlet and outlet temperatures of the
cooling water, while m: and Cp are the mass flow rate, kg/s and the specific heat
capacity of water, kJ/kg-K respectively.
Two approaches are usually employed in the performance characterization of
thermosyphon, namely:

• Experimental

• Numerical

2.4.1 Experimental study on the performance of thermosyphon

The thermosyphon heat pipe can be experimentally characterized and the effects
of some parameters on its performance evaluated. Figures 7 and 8 show a schematic
diagram and picture of a typical test rig for the performance characterization of
thermosyphon constructed at the University of Birmingham, UK, for analyzing the
performance of a two-phase closed thermosyphon. It consists of a 0.4-m-long two-
phase closed thermosyphon heat pipe, heating coil, water jacket and other instru-
mentations.
The heat can be supplied by hot water circulating around the evaporator or by
electric power supply. In Figures 6 and 7, the evaporator section is wrapped evenly
with electric wire with electric energy supplied and controlled by TSx1820P Pro-
grammable DC PSU 18 V/20A power regulator to provide the heat required for
boiling the working fluid inside the pipe. A multimeter is used for measuring the
voltage input which is connected close to the pipe to account for the voltage drop

Figure 7.
Schematic diagram of the experimental test rig for thermosyphon characterization [17, 19].

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Thermosyphon Heat Pipe Technology
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Figure 8.
Picture of the heat transfer characterization of thermosyphon test rig [17, 19].

while the current was read from the power regulator. The evaporator section is also
insulated with 25-mm-thick pipe insulator to reduce the heat loss to the ambient
environment (Figure 8). For measuring the temperature distribution along the
pipe, 12 surface thermocouples were placed at different locations on the test pipe;
4 on the evaporator wall (at 0.02, 0.07, 0.12 and 0.17 m from the tip of the
evaporator) and 2 on the condenser wall at 0.25 and 0.35 m as shown in the figures.
The electric wires were wrapped in such way that they are not directly on the
thermocouples so as to not affect their readings. Two probe thermocouples were
installed at the inlet and outlet of the manifold to measure the temperatures of the
cooling water. Three other thermocouples were used on the water jacket and one on
the insulator to measure the effectiveness of the insulation and the jacket. All the
readings were sent to Pico TC-08 data loggers connected to a PC.

2.4.1.1 Instrumentation and calibration

The test rig has to be provided with different measuring devices of temperature,
water flow rate, heat (power) input and angular orientation to enable investigating
the flow and heat transfer characteristics of the selected thermosyphon. The instru-
ments include:
□ Thermocouples, both surface and probe types.
□ Flow meter.
□ Electric power regulator (or hot water supply in some cases).
□ Data logger.
□ Angular measurement instrument such as protractor
The instruments are calibrated against standard devices and error analysis and
uncertainties of their measurements are evaluated.

2.4.1.2 Experimental procedure

The test facility was completed and ready for investigations when all the parts
were connected and water circulation system was checked for possible leakages.
The operating conditions are set based on the type of the investigation to be carried
out. However, in all the cases, the system is allowed to run and stabilize before
readings are taken. Preliminary tests are required to determine the time when the
system reaches steady state. Certain number of readings are set to be taken for each

9
Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

boundary condition at a set interval of time (usually in seconds). The reading

recorded includes the temperatures, flow rates, voltage and current. Various inves-
tigations can be carried out using the test rig such as the effects of heat inputs,
cooling water flow rate, inclination effects of the pipe, fill ratio, etc. Detailed
procedure for each case depends on the type of the investigation to be carried out.

2.4.2 Numerical approach

To enable several investigations on many parameters affecting the performance

of thermosyphon with different boundary conditions, numerical approach is usu-
ally employed. This is because experimental approach requires more time, energy
and huge investment, to investigate many cases under different boundary condi-
tions. There are two numerical approaches that are employed in modelling
multiphase flows, namely the Euler-Euler and Euler-Lagrange approaches. In the
Euler-Euler approach, the several phases are considered as interpenetrating con-
tinua mathematically in which each phase a volume is occupied only without shar-
ing with other phases, while Euler-Lagrange approach utilizes Navier-Stokes
equations that are solved for the fluid phase with several numbers of particles
tracked in order to solve the dispersed phase. It should be noted that this approach
cannot be adopted for applications in which volume fraction is important, especially
for the secondary phase. Hence, the Euler-Euler approach is usually used in model-
ling two-phase closed thermosyphon operations.
Using Euler-Euler approach, three multiphase models are available in ANSYS Fluent:

a. The Eulerian model

b.The Mixture model

c. The Volume of Fluid (VOF) model

The mixture model deals with modelling of sedimentation, bubbly flows,

particle-laden flows, etc. While applications such as fluidized beds, particle suspen-
sion, risers are modelled using Eulerian approach, on the other hand, liquid-gas
tracking under steady or transient, free-surface flows, large bubble in liquid are
modelled using the VOF approach.
Numerical modelling like computational fluid dynamic analysis (CFD) is an
alternative to experimental approach, whereby several studies can be carried out
with small investment. In CFD, a set of discretized equations are solved with the
help of computer to get an approximate solution [20]. CFD analysis can be carried
out on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a thermosyphon heat pipe in
both vertical and inclined orientations using a commercial ANSYS Fluent or any
software that can model the simultaneous evaporation and condensation processes
taking place in a thermosyphon heat pipe. However, some approaches like volume
of fluid (VOF) in ANSYS Fluent require the user to add a user-defined function
(UDF) to the modelling process.
The first step in solving any multiphase problem is identifying the suitable
multiphase regime which represents the flow needed to be modelled. In this chap-
ter, emphases is put more on the VOF model.

2.4.2.1 Model building

For building a model for simulating the flow and heat transfer characteristics of
thermosyphon, a researcher is required to have a good knowledge of the theory

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Thermosyphon Heat Pipe Technology
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(physics) behind the processes. The processes involved in the CFD modelling of the
performance of thermosyphon using volume of fluid (VOF) approach in ANSYS
Fluent can be summarized as follows:

i. Generation of the pipe geometry (model).

ii. Meshing of the model: different meshes of different properties (number of

cells, faces, quality, etc.) are required.

iii. Carrying out a grid independence test: this is done to find out the situation
whereby the result is independent of the mesh configuration and to select
the configuration which will give less computational time.

iv. Importing the selected meshed file for the investigations into the ANSYS
Fluent.

v. Attaching the user-defined function (UDF); this depends on the modelling

approach selected.

vi. Modelling and simulation set up, which includes.

• Defining the boundary conditions.

• Setting the thermophysical properties of the materials involved such as

thermal conductivity, material properties, density, specific heat
capacity, viscosity, etc.

• Defining of the solution method and convergence.

• Running the simulation and processing of the results.

• Validation of the model: to enable validation of the developed model,

the boundary conditions and other definitions are made exactly as
those set in the experiment.

• Once the model is validated with the experimental results, then it can
be used for further investigations.

2.5 Factors affecting the operations of thermosyphon

Considerable experimental research works were published on the investigation

of the effects of parameters like the geometry, working fluid, fill factor and incli-
nation on the thermosyphon heat pipe performance [21–25]. Hence, apart from the
material of the thermosyphon, other important parameters affect its performance,
such as:

I.Type of working fluid charged: The common liquid used in thermosyphon is

water due to its availability, low cost, safety, etc. Below are some of the
prime requirements for a liquid to be used in heat pipe:

i. Compatibility with wick and wall materials

ii. Good thermal stability

11
Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

iii. Wettability of wick and wall materials: it is necessary for the working
fluid to wet the wick and the container material, that is contact angle
should be zero or very small

iv. High latent heat: a high latent heat of vaporisation is desirable in

order to transfer large amounts of heat with minimum fluid flow, and
hence to maintain low pressure drops within the heat pipe

v. High thermal conductivity: the thermal conductivity of the working

fluid should preferably be high in order to minimize the radial
temperature gradient and to reduce the possibility of nucleate boiling
at the wick or wall surface

vi. Low liquid and vapour viscosities: the resistance to fluid flow will be
minimized by choosing fluids with low values of vapor and liquid
viscosities

vii. High surface tension: in heat pipe design, a high value of surface
tension is desirable in order to enable the heat pipe to operate against
gravity and to generate a high capillary driving force

viii. Acceptable freezing or pour point

The selection of the working fluid must be based on thermodynamic consider-

ations which are concerned with the various limitations to heat flow occurring
within the heat pipe, like viscous, sonic, capillary, entrainment and nucleate boiling
levels.
Some common liquids used in heat pipe include water, acetone, ethanol, ammo-
nia, nitrogen and methanol. However, recent researches have shown potentials of
using other liquids alone or mixed with water like nanofluids [26–28].

II.Quantity of the working fluid charged: the quantity of the liquid charged in
relation to the volume of the evaporator, called fill ratio, FR or liquid ratio,
plays a vital role in the performance of thermosyphon. Fill ratio is defined as
the ratio of volume of the working fluid in an unheated pipe, V liq , to the
volume of the evaporator, V e :

4V liq
FR ¼ V liq =V e ¼ (5)
πD2 le

The quantity of the fluid to be charged has to be properly selected, which

depends on the intended applications, as insufficient amount of fluid causes dry out
while excessive amount reduces performance and increases the cost of the pipe. FR
of a thermosyphon should be between 40 and 60% for vertical pipes and between
60 and 80% for inclined pipes [4, 29] . For example, Emami et al. [30] and Asgar
[18] obtained 45 and 50% as best FR respectively.

III.Heat input: The amount of heat supplied in the evaporator affects the perfor-
mance of the thermosyphon depending on other factors such as size, fill ratio,
its geometry and operating limits. Experimental results have shown that the
performance of the thermosyphon increases with the increase in heat input
up to their operating limits. It increases with increase between 350 and

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500 W, but it decreases when the heat input is above 500 W [18] . But for
Abdullahi et al. [19], the performance of the pipe increases as the heat input
increases from 20 to 81.69 W, but it tends to decrease as more heat is
supplied, showing the limit of this pipe has been reached under these operat-
ing conditions (Figure 9). Hence, the trend of the performance of the
thermosyphon (based on the amount of the heat input in the evaporator
section) depends on its operating limits. At low heat input, the vapour gen-
erated from the evaporator section is small, so there will be significant dry
areas in the condenser section; hence, heat transfer is largely by free convec-
tion. As the heat is gradually increased, more vapour will rise to the con-
denser section, there will be high condensation rate on the condenser wall
and the dominant heat transfer mechanism will be condensation. But at
certain high heat input, thick layer of liquid can be formed on the wall of the
pipe causing high thermal resistance and hence lower the heat transfer to the
cooling water, hence reduction of performance.

IV.Inclination angle: since the condenser of thermosyphon must be at the top with
the evaporator at the bottom for the condensate to return, this shows that the
pipe can be inclined at any angle other than 90°. Regarding the effect of
inclination angle on heat pipe performance, conflicting experimental results
were reported like angles between 15 and 60° [24], between 40 and 45° [25]
and 60° [30] gave the best performance. Others reported higher angles like 90°
[31] and 83° [32] as the best performing angles while few reported that incli-
nation angle has no effect [33]. The possible reasons for the contradicting
results are the complex nature of the processes taking place in thermosyphon
operations and various parameters affecting its performance. Furthermore,
those researches are only experimental and considered a small range of incli-
nation angles. With the contradictory experimental results in the literature and
lack of, or limited, numerical studies on the effect of inclination, Abdullahi
et al. [19] addressed these issues through the development of a CFD model that
studied the effects of inclination angles (10–90°) and experimentally validated
the model. Experimental and numerical results showed that increasing the
inclination angle will improve the thermosyphon heat pipe performance to
reach its maximum value at 90°, but this effect decreases as the heat input
increases [19] (Figure 10).

V.Flow rate of cooling water: the rate at which cooling water is passing in the
water jacket around the condenser of a thermosyphon affects its performance.

Figure 9.
Performance of thermosyphon aligned vertically at different heat inputs [17, 19].

13
Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

Figure 10.
Variation of the thermosyphon performance with inclination angle at different heat inputs [17, 19].

As the rate of the heat removal from the vapour increases, more condensate
returns to the evaporator for another cycle. The effect of cooling water flow
rate at constant heat input was investigated on the performance of
thermosyphon heat pipe [19]. The heat input was fixed at 101 W while five
different flow rates ranging from 0.00156 to 0.00611 kg/s were investigated.
Temperature and the flow rate readings were recorded for each run and the
effects of the cooling water flow rate were evaluated based on the overall
thermal resistance, rate of heat transfer to the cooling water, outlet tempera-
ture of cooling water, performance of the thermosyphon, etc. The results from
such work have shown that the performance of the pipe in terms of heat
transfer to the cooling water increases with the increase in the cooling water
flow rate. This is due to the mass flow of the cooling water which results in the
enhancement of the rate of heat transfer from the pipe wall to the cooling
water and subsequent increase in the efficiency.

2.6 Applications of thermosyphon

In addition to the general advantages of heat pipes, thermosyphon type is found

to be highly durable, reliable and cost-effective, which make them useful for vari-
ous applications, such as:

I.Solar heating of building [16].

II.Liquid circulation: thermosyphon system is used for circulating liquids and

volatile gases in heating and cooling systems such as water heaters, furnaces
and boilers. It simplifies transfer of liquid or gas without using conventional
pump which adds cost and complexity to the system.

III.Cooling applications: thermosyphon is used in cooling of turbine blades,

transformers, electronics, internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors
[34, 35]. This is due to their ability to dissipate and transfer large amount of
energy from small area without any significant loss.

IV.Aircraft cooling: due to their light weight, thermosyphon pipes are used in
cooling of aircraft and spacecraft.

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Figure 11.
Developed compound parabolic collector with thermosyphon as receiver [17].

Receiver in solar collector (solar systems): thermosyphon is proved to be a good

choice as a receiver for solar concentration systems due to its advantages stated
[36, 37] as shown in Figures 3 and 11.

3. Conclusions

Several parameters affect the operation of thermosyphon such as fill ratio,

working fluid, inclination, geometry, heat input, cooling water flow rate, etc.
Experimental and numerical (CFD) studies are usually carried out to enable the
investigation of the effects of some of these parameters on the performance of
thermosyphon heat pipe for use in various engineering applications. Investigations
on the effects of heat input, fill ratio, flow rate of cooling water on the temperature
distributions on the wall of the pipe, overall thermal resistance and overall perfor-
mance of the pipe at vertical orientation were shown to be possible both experi-
mentally and using CFD. Also, the effect of inclination angle of thermosyphon on
those parameters was successfully added in the Fluent. Hence, the chapter has
shown that volume of fluid (VOF) model’s approach in ANSYS together with UDF
and other software can fully simulate the complex evaporation and condensation
processes taking place in thermosyphon for both vertical and inclined orientations.

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Recent Advances in Heat Pipes

Author details

Bala Abdullahi1*, Raya K. Al-dadah2 and Sa’ad Mahmoud2

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kano University of Science and

Technology (KUST), Wudil, Kano, Nigeria

2 School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Birmingham,

United Kingdom

*Address all correspondence to: balabdullahi@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Thermosyphon Heat Pipe Technology
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85410

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