초록
This study has been performed to investigate the thermal performance of variable conductance heat pipe (VCHP) with meshed wick. The length of condenser portion in a VCHP is varied by the expansion of inert gas with the operation temperature, and the heat transport capacity is thus varied with the operating temperature. In this study, numerical evaluation of the VCHP is made for the thermal performance of VCHP, based on the diffusion model of inert gas. Water is used as a working fluid and nitrogen as a control inert gas in the copper tube. As a result, the thermal performance of VCHP has been compared with that of constant conductance heat pipe (CCHP) according to the variation of operation temperature. Maximum heat transport capacity of VCHP is mainly presented for operation temperature and the variation of operation temperature is also presented for heat transfer rate of VCHP.