Development of advanced high porosity wicks for the high temperature heat pipes of concentrating solar power
- National Technical Univ. of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnic Inst.”, Kyiv (Ukraine). Heat Pipes Lab.
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Concentrating Solar Power Dept.
- National Technical Univ. of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnic Inst.”, Kyiv (Ukraine). Heat Pipes Lab.; Inst. of Space Systems, Bremen (Germany)
Sandia National Laboratories and Heat Pipes Laboratory of National Technical University of Ukraine «KPI» have developed several methods of improving robustness of the high-temperature heat pipe wick for their application to concentrating solar power systems with Stirling engine. In this case the wick structures must retain high heat pipe performance with robustness for long-term operation. Recent modeling indicates that wicks based on various fiber combinations could provide the robustness combined with sufficient performance. Results of the development, characterization, modeling, and testing of advanced felt metal wicks that addresses durability issues while maintaining sufficient performance are showed in this paper. The project resulted in an ongoing durability bench-scale heat pipe that simulates wick load conditions required for 80kWth throughput solar receiver, including periodic non-destructive evaluation of the wick durability. Two mock-ups of high-temperature heat pipes were made for long life and performance tests: the first sample with wick based on 12 μm fibers; and the second with hybrid wick based on 30 μm fibers and 6.5 μm fibers. Finally, the second heat pipe operation has continued unattended at 775 °C vapor temperature for nearly 13,600 h, with no observable loss of performance or change in startup characteristics.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); National Technical Univ. of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnic Inst.”, Kyiv (Ukraine)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S); Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1473930
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1550553
- Report Number(s):
- SAND--2018-9990J; 667809
- Journal Information:
- Applied Thermal Engineering, Journal Name: Applied Thermal Engineering Vol. 126; ISSN 1359-4311
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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