HEAT TRANSER ANALYSIS OF HEAT PIPE WITH IRON OXIDE NANOFLUID MIXED WITH DI WATER

An attempt is made to design, fabricate and test a heat pipe with 25 mm diameter and 1000 mm length with a thermal capacity of 10 W. Experiments were conducted with and without working fluid for, different thermal loads to assess the performance of heat pipe. The working fluids chosen for the study were same as those commonly used namely, DI water and DI water mixes with iron oxide (Fe2O3). The temperature distribution across the heat pipe was measured and recorded using thermocouples. The performance of the heat pipe was quantified in terms of thermal resistance and overall heat transfer coefficient. The amount of liquid filled was varied and the variation of the performance parameters for varying liquid inventory is observed. Finally, optimum liquid fill ratio is identified in terms of lower temperature difference and thermal resistance and higher heat transfer coefficient. The effectiveness of circular copper heat pipe is found to be the maximum when the DI water mixed nanofluids (Fe2O3) as working fluid.