Development of a compensation chamber for use in a multiple condenser loop heat pipe
Name
859151094-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
12.51 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
db0d5986c9f28bc97640f5d8510917be
Author(s)
Roche, Nicholas Albert
Advisor(s)
John G. Brisson.
Date Issued
2013
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The performance of many electronic devices is presently limited by heat dissipation rates. One potential solution lies in high-performance air-cooled heat exchangers like PHUMP, the multiple condenser loop heat pipe presented here. This device features a number of design improvements that lead to significant increases in performance relative to state of the art heat exchangers. In this work, a compensation chamber is developed and implemented to ensure the operational stability of the device across a wide range of operating conditions. A computational model of the device was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics v3.5a to allow for design optimization and performance evaluation. The accuracy of this computational model was established by comparing simulation results to experimental data. Analytical models were used to identify operating points of interest, which were simulated to compare the performance of various designs. The final design featured reduced thermal resistance between the vapor in the evaporator and the compensation chamber, and increased thermal resistance between the compensation chamber and the ambient air relative to past designs. This design reduced the risk of condenser flooding and evaporator dry out, improving the operational stability of the device. This design was implemented into a ten-condenser prototype, where experiments validated its performance. The compensation chamber did not require any electrical heaters, reducing the power consumption of the device and increasing its COP. Finally, general recommendations and guidelines are presented for use during the design process of future compensation chambers.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2013.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-90).
Subjects
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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