Flow Visualization of Oscillation Characteristics of Liquid and Vapor Flow in the Oscillating Capillary Tube Heat Pipe

The two-phase How patterns for both non-loop and loop type oscillating capillary tube heat pipes (OCHPs) were presented in this study. The detailed flow patterns were recorded by a high-speed digital camera for each experimental condition to understand exactly the operation mechanism of the OCHP. The design and operation conditions of the OCHP such as turn number, working fluid, and heat flux were varied. The experimental results showed that the representative flow pattern in the evaporating section of the OCHP was the oscillation of liquid slugs and vapor plugs based on the generation and growth of bubbles by nucleate boiling. As the oscillation of liquid slugs and vapor plugs was very speedy, the How pattern changed from the capillary slug flow to a pseudo slug flow near the annular flow. The flow of short vapor-liquid slug-train units was the flow pattern in the adiabatic section. In the condensing section, it was the oscillation of liquid slugs and vapor plugs and the circulation of working fluid. The oscillation flow in the loop type OCHP was more active than that in the non-loop type OCHP due to the circulation of working fluid in the OCHP. When the turn number of the OCHP was increased, the oscillation and circulation of working fluid was more active as well as forming the oscillation wave of long liquid slugs and vapor plugs in the OCHP. The oscillation flow of R-142b as the working fluid was more active than that of ethanol and the high efficiency of the heat transfer performance of R-I42b was achieved.