Effect of Non-Condensable Gas Leakage on Long Term Cooling Performance of Loop Thermosyphon

Abstract

We have developed a loop thermosyphon for cooling electronic devices. The cooling performance of a thermosyphon deteriorates with an increasing amount of non-condensable gas (NCG). Design of a thermosyphon must consider NCG to provide guaranteed performance for a long time. In this study, the heat transfer performance of a thermosyphon was measured while changing the amount of NCG. The resultant performances were expressed as approximations. These approximations enabled us to predict the total thermal resistance of the thermosyphon by the amount of NCG and input heating. Then, using the known leakage in the thermosyphon and the amount of dissolved NCG in the water, we can predict the amount of NCG and the total thermal resistance of the thermosyphon after ten years. Although there is a slight leakage in the thermosyphon, we are able to design a thermosyphon with a guaranteed level of cooling perform- ance for a long time using the proposed design method.