Correlation to predict heat transfer of an oscillating loop heat pipe consisting of three interconnected columns

In this paper, heat transfer in an oscillating loop heat pipe is investigated experimentally. The oscillation of the liquid columns at the evaporator and condenser sections of the heat pipe are driven by gravitational force and the phase lag between evaporation and condensation because the dimensions of the heat pipe are large enough to neglect the effect of capillary forces. The overall heat transfer coefficient based on the temperature difference between the evaporator and condenser surfaces is introduced by a correlation function of dimensionless numbers such as kinetic Reynolds number, c(p)Delta T/h(fg) and the geometric parameters. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.