Introduction:

Gravity assisted heat pipes or wickless heat pipes are highly efficient heat transfer
devices often referred to us as thermal super conductors or thermal short circuits. The
efficient thermal conductivity of thermosyphon exceeds that of copper 200-500 times [1].
A two phase closed thermosyphon is a passive heat transfer device containing the
working fluid in closed container. It is used to transport a large amount of heat at a high
rate with small temperature difference between the sink and source. This is achieved by
making use of the highly efficient thermal transport process of evaporation and
condensation. The working is shown in Fig.1. it is widely used in energy conservation
fields, cooling of electronic equipments, space craft temperature control, cooling of gas
turbine rotor blades, extraction thermal energy from heat sources like solar heat or
geothermal, HVAC applications, deicing of roadways, preservation of perm fast and
thermal energy storage systems owing to the advantages like simple construction, small
thermal resistance, broad operating limits, low fabrication cost and good reliability. The
thermal performance of two phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) has been extensively
studied for a long period of time. The behavior of TPCT filled with water, ammonia,
toluene and conventional refrigerants like R11 and R12 in a steady state situation are well
known and numerous experimental and analytical works are available in the literature [2-
8]. The use of refrigerants as working fluids is easy for certain applications because they
work with positive work.
The literature survey revealed that the many of the research work deals with the
TPCT filled conventional refrigerants like R11, R12 and R22. However, knowledge of
thermal performance of TPCT filled with alternate refrigerant is of great importance since
the conventional refrigerants are banned due to their potential to deplete the ozone layer.
Very few investigations are made to study the thermal behavior of TPCT filled with
R134a, which is considered as a eco- friendly refrigerant and a generally accepted
substitute for R11 and R12.
Payakaruk et. al [9] studied experimentally the effect of dimensionless
numbers( Bond numbers, Froude numbers, Weber numbers and Kutateladze numbers) on
heat transfer characteristics of an inclined thermosyphons. Copper thermosyphons with
R22, R123, R134a, ethanol and water as the working fluids are employed to predict heat
transfer characteristics of an inclined closed two phase thermosyphon at normal
conditions. The effect of thermosyphon inner diameter, fill ratio, aspect ratio and
inclination angle are also studied.
Recently ong et al.[10] reported the performance of a thermosyphon filled with
R134a. They concluded that the heat flux transferred increased with high coolant mass
flow rates, high fill ratios and greater temperature difference between bath and condenser.
In this experimental work, the evaporator was immersed in a water bath to maintain
constant temperature on evaporator side. This type of TPCT can be termed as temperature
controlled thermosyphon.
Abou- Ziyan et al.[11] has investigated the effect of vibration on thermosyphon
filled with R134a. They found that minor or no effect is experienced with R134a below
the boiling limit and enhancement up to 250% existed above the boiling point.
The evaporator section of a thermosyphon covered with a heater to supply the
required flux can be termed as flux controlled thermosyphons. The experimental studies
of a flux controlled thermosyphon filled with R134a are not easily found in literature.
Hence the thermal behavior of R134a thermosyphon was undertaken in this work. This
paper considers the effect of controlling variables ( Heat input, Coolant mass floe rate
and coolant temperature)on thermal performance of a flux controlled R134a
thermosyphon.
Experimental Setup:
The schematic illustration of the experimental set up is shown in fig. 2. The
thermosyphon is made of copper and it is selected on the basis of compatibility with the
working fluid R134a[12].The copper tube has 26mm and 32mm inner and outer diameter
respectively. The tube was plugged at both ends. A compound pressure gauge was fitted
at the condenser side to measure the working pressure. The thermosyphon has three
sections, namely evaporator, adiabatic section and condenser. The condenser section of
500mm is cooled by the water that flows through a water jacket of same length and outer
diameter of 80mm. The pump is used to maintain the water flow rate to the condenser
jacket. The floe rate was measured by using a rotameter fitted in the water pipe line. The
adiabatic section of 100 mm was thermally insulated to minimize the adiabatic losses.
The evaporator section of 400mm is uniformly heated by a electric heater of 1000W
maximum power, the heater is made of nichrome wire, which was wrapped around the
entire length of the evaporator section. To prevent electric losses, it is insulated with
ceramic beads and covered by a hollow cylinder made of steel. The electric power input
is controlled by using a variable power supply (Variac). Details of the experimental
apparatus are given in table 1.
The axial temperature distribution of the thermosyphon is measured by using k-
type thermocouple. The locations of the thermocouples are shown in Fig.2. The
temperature of the vapor core region is measured by the thermocouple inserted in the
adiabatic section. The coolant inlet and outlet temperatures are measured using the same
type of thermocouple. The thermocouples were connected to Data acquisition system to
record the temperature. The thermosyphon is evacuated to 0.99 bar by using a mechanical
vacuum pump and the required amount of the working fluid is charged.
The filling ratio is defined as the volume ratio of the charged liquid to the
evaporator. In this experimental work the fill ratio is 100%. The experiments comprised
the systematic variations of heat input, coolant mass flow rate and coolant inlet
temperature. The aspect Ratio and fill ratio were kept constant. Table 2 gives a survey of
parameters used in the experiment: A ‘test series’ is characterized by a certain
combination of heat input, coolant mass flow rate and coolant inlet temperature. Data
were recorded when the system reached the steady- state condition.
Measurement and Evaluation:
For evaluation of the experiments, electric power, wall temperatures, vapor
temperature, pressure of the working fluid, ambient pressure, coolant mass floe rates and
coolants temperatures (inlet & outlet) are measured.
The voltage and current is measured by using voltmeter and ammeter. The
calculated electric power using the voltage and current readings is corrected by the power
factor to include the electric losses in the connections. The system pressure at the upper
end of the thermosyphon is calculated by the pressure gauge readings, ambient pressure
and hydrostatic connections. The heat input to the evaporator section and dissipation of
heat from condenser section are calculated respectively from
Qp = VI Cosφ
Qc = mw ( Twi- Two) Cpw
 Mean heat transfer coefficients are calculated for evaporator section and
condenser section respectively from
he = Qe/Ae