skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Cool-down and frozen start-up behavior of a grooved water heat pipe

Abstract

A grooved water heat pipe was tested to study its characteristics during the cool-down and start-up periods. The water heat pipe was cooled down from the ambient temperature to below the freezing temperature of water. During the cool-down, isothermal conditions were maintained at the evaporator and adiabatic sections until the working fluid was frozen. When water was frozen along the entire heat pipe, the heat pipe was rendered inactive. The start-up of the heat pipe from this state was investigated under several different operating conditions. The results show the existence of large temperature gradients between the evaporator and the condenser, and the moving of the melting front of the working fluid along the heat pipe. Successful start-up was achieved for some test cases using partial gravity assist. The start-up behavior depended largely on the operating conditions.

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
10181001
Report Number(s):
NASA-CR-187053; CONF-910318-17
ON: DE94051193; TRN: 94:008266
DOE Contract Number:  
AI03-86SF16310
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Dec 1990
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; 42 ENGINEERING; HEAT PIPES; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; TESTING; THAWING; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; SPACE POWER REACTORS; NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems; 210600; 420200; POWER REACTORS, MOBILE, PROPULSION, PACKAGE, AND TRANSPORTABLE; FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND TECHNIQUES

Citation Formats

Jang, J H. Cool-down and frozen start-up behavior of a grooved water heat pipe. United States: N. p., 1990. Web. doi:10.2172/10181001.
Jang, J H. Cool-down and frozen start-up behavior of a grooved water heat pipe. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/10181001
Jang, J H. 1990. "Cool-down and frozen start-up behavior of a grooved water heat pipe". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/10181001. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10181001.
@article{osti_10181001,
title = {Cool-down and frozen start-up behavior of a grooved water heat pipe},
author = {Jang, J H},
abstractNote = {A grooved water heat pipe was tested to study its characteristics during the cool-down and start-up periods. The water heat pipe was cooled down from the ambient temperature to below the freezing temperature of water. During the cool-down, isothermal conditions were maintained at the evaporator and adiabatic sections until the working fluid was frozen. When water was frozen along the entire heat pipe, the heat pipe was rendered inactive. The start-up of the heat pipe from this state was investigated under several different operating conditions. The results show the existence of large temperature gradients between the evaporator and the condenser, and the moving of the melting front of the working fluid along the heat pipe. Successful start-up was achieved for some test cases using partial gravity assist. The start-up behavior depended largely on the operating conditions.},
doi = {10.2172/10181001},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/10181001}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1990},
month = {Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1990}
}