High speed flow visualization of a closed loop pulsating heat pipe

We provide the high speed flow visualization results for the closed loop pulsating heat pipes (PHPs). It is identified that there exists the bulk circulation flow which lasts longer and the local flow direction switch flow. The bubble displacements and velocities do display the sine oscillation waves but the local oscillation waves were superimposed with short periods and small oscillation amplitudes. Distinct with the methanol PHP, the water PHP has quasi-rectangular shape for the bubble displacements, behaving the periodic stationary-fast movement characteristics. Dispersed bubbles, vapor plugs and the transition flow patterns from the dispersed bubbles to the vapor plugs are the major flow patterns in PHP. Long vapor plugs are only observed for the methanol PHP, not observed in the water PHP, due to the vapor plug deformation and breakup mechanism, which was analyzed in the present paper. Bubble sizes have quasi-fixed distributions versus time over the entire PHP, but have unsymmetry distributions among various tubes. The complicated combined effects of bubble nucleation, coalescence and condensation are responsible for the oscillation flow in PHP. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.