Enhancement of the thermal performance of a loop heat pipe using silica-water nanofluid

Abstract

Loop heat pipes (LHPs) are heat transfer devices which are capable of transferring large amount of heat energy over long distances. This paper presents the results of numerical investigations carried out to determine the effect of silica-water nanofluid on the thermal performance of a LHP. Silica-water nanofluid at 2 % nanoparticle concentration and deionised water are considered as working fluids. The power input is varied from 40 to 320 W in steps of 40 W. The numerical results are validated with experimental data available in the literature. LHP using deionsed water is used as the baseline case. The results shows that silica-water nanofluid can significantly enhance the thermal performance of the LHP when compared with the baseline case. The evaporator temperature of LHP using nanofluid reduced by 27 % than the baseline case. The LHP attained steady state faster (150 s earlier) with the presence of silica nanoparticles due to enhanced thermal properties. Thus silica-water nanofluid based loop heat pipes proves its potential as a suitable working fluid for a wide range of applications.