A STUDY OF WIRE MESH WICK CHARACTERISTICS IN A LONGITUDINAL HEAT PIPE.
Abstract
An everted, glass-enclosed, nickel heat pipe was operated at constant volume using a nickel wire mesh wick and distilled water. The performance of the pipe was evaluated under various combinations of wick parameters. The effect of the radial evaporator capillary radius, the radial condenser capillary radius, and the evaporator wetting angle were investigated at a pressure range of 27 to 24 inches of Mercury vacuum. The performance of the pipe was found to improve with decreasing radial evaporator capillary radius and decreasing amounts of non-condensables in the working fluid. A detrimental wick-aging effect which led to violent boiling and early dryout was observed. A discussion of observed behavior presents evidence that boiling and wick fin effect may play a significant part in heat pipe operation. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0709108
Entities
People
- Oscar Jonathan Hickox Jr
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School