Two-phase thermal control systems

Overview

ABSTRACT

Various systems of heat conduction are available, the use of metals such as copper and aluminum. However, heat pipes, the functioning of which is based upon the principle of thermal transfer through a phase transition of a fluid (latent heat), allows for obtaining a significant yield in the transport of heat fluxes. The two mostly used main types of heat pipes are capillary heat pipes and two-phase thermosyphons. Although it was discovered in the 30s, the principle of the heat pipe was not adopted until the last few decades, notably in the airspace, rail and power electronics sectors. This article presents this state-of-the-art technology, its functioning principles, dimensioning methods and several application cases.

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AUTHORS

Jocelyn BONJOUR: Professor at INSA Lyon - CETHIL UMR5008 CNRS – INSA – Université Lyon 1
Frédéric LEFÈVRE: Senior Lecturer HDR at INSA Lyon - CETHIL UMR5008 CNRS – INSA – Université Lyon 1
Valérie SARTRE: Senior Lecturer HDR at INSA Lyon - CETHIL UMR5008 CNRS – INSA – Université Lyon 1
Yves BERTIN: HDR Senior Lecturer at ENSMA - Institut Pprime LET UPR3346 CNRS – ENSMA – Université Poitiers
Cyril ROMESTANT: CNRS Research Engineer - LET UMR6608 CNRS – ENSMA – Université Poitiers
Vincent AYEL: Senior lecturer at ENSMA - Institut Pprime LET UPR3346 CNRS – ENSMA – Université Poitiers
Vincent PLATEL: Senior Lecturer at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour - LaTEP, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour - Update of the article [B 9 545] Heat pipes, written in 1997 by Alain BRICARD and Serge CHAUDOURNE, as part of the activities of the CNRS GdR 2613 "Systèmes de refroidissement diphasique" (SYREDI).

INTRODUCTION

Much better conductors than metals, heat pipes are thermal systems that can transport a quantity of heat many hundreds or thousands of times greater than that transported by a solid, homogeneous metal conductor of the same volume at the same temperature difference.

Involving the evaporation and condensation of an internal fluid, the heat pipe can be designed for different purposes:

transmit high heat flows with a small temperature difference;
transmit a variable heat flow at a constant temperature ;
standardize the temperature of a structure subject to temperature variations;
adapt the heat flow density between a hot source and a cold source with very different surfaces.

Patented in 1942, the heat pipe was forgotten until the early 1960s, when it was rediscovered for the needs of space technology. Sometimes called the "heat pipe", its ancestor was the Perkins tube, a kind of closed-circuit boiler invented in the 19th century by A.M. and J. Perkins.

Today, two heat pipe families are mature: capillary heat pipes and two-phase thermosyphons. Over the last fifteen years or so, new types of heat pipe have undergone significant development and are gradually emerging: these are microheat pipes, two-phase loops and oscillating heat pipes, which are presented in the [BE 9 546] dossier "Two-phase thermal control systems. Two-phase, capillary and gravity loops" and in folder [BE 9 547] "Two-phase thermal control systems. Micro and oscillating heat pipes".

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Two-phase thermal control systems

Operating principles