• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.1079-1085
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• 2010

A steady-state analytical model was presented for a loop heat pipe (LHP) with an evaporator that has a flat geometry. On the basis of a series of reviews of the relevant literature, a sequence of calculations was proposed to predict the temperatures and pressures at each important part of the LHP: the evaporator, liquid reservoir (compensation chamber), liquid line, vapor line, and condenser. The analysis of the evaporator, which is the only part in the LHP that has a capillary structure, was emphasized. Thin-film theory is applied to account for the pressure and temperature in the region adjacent to the liquid-vapor interface in the evaporator. The present study introduced a unique method to estimate the liquid temperature at the interface. Relative freedom was assumed in the configuration of a condenser with a simplified liquid-vapor interface. Our steady-state model was validated by experimental results available in the literature. The relative error was within 3% on the absolute temperature scale, and reasonable agreement was obtained.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.1058-1062
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• 2004

High-temperature cylindrical stainless steel/sodium heat pipe was manufactured and tested under long-term operation. The container material was stainless steel 316L and the working fluid was sodium. The heat pipe was 25.4 mm in diameter and 1000 mm in length with a two-layer screen mesh wick. The evaporator part was 600 mm and the condenser part was 300 mm in length. Total measurement points on heat pipe were 15 points and 12 points were located in condenser part. The heat pipe was heated for 142 days(3400 hours) at $800^{\circ}C$. In the test period, the maximum temperature difference was increased from $18^{\circ}C$ o $28^{\circ}C$ and the maximum thermal resistance was as low as $0.015^{\circ}CW$.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.1506-1511
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• 2003

The present study proposes a new structure for a flat plate heat pipe which could embody a thin thickness, any shapes and high heat density a unit area. It is on the structure for the formation of vapor passages and the support of the case of the flat plate heat pipe. A screen mesh is used as the one. To verify the validity of the one, the flat plate heat pipe of 1.08mm thickness was made with a layer of the screen mesh with 14 and 100 mesh number respectively and tested. Here the screen mesh with 14 mesh number plays a role of the vapor passage and the support of the case and the screen mesh with 100 mesh number functions as the wick structure. T he results show that the screen mesh excellently carries out the function of the vapor passage and the support of the case.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2130-2135
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• 2007

Operating characteristics of a loop heat pipe (LHP) having a bypass line was investigated experimentally. The LHP had a sintered metal wick as a capillary structure and methanol as a working fluid. The sintered metal wick was made of stainless steel of which the average pore size was 5 ${\mu}m$and porosity of 47%. A bypass line of a small diameter was attached between the vapor escape passage and the liquid reservoir. The dimension of the flat evaporator was $50(L){\times}40(W){\times}30(H)$ mm and that of the condenser was $50(L){\times}40(W){\times}11(H)$ mm. Wall and pipe material of the LHP was stainless steel and heating area was 35(W) mm${\times}$35(L) mm. The inner diameters of vapor and liquid transport lines were 4.0 mm and 2.0 mm, and the lengths of the two lines were both 0.5 m. The LHP was tested for three different tilt angles of horizontal, favorite tilt, and adverse tilt. The thermal load range was up to 290 W at the condenser above evaporation position. Furthermore, the effect of a bypass line on the start-up transient as well as steady-state operation was presented and discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.18-24
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• 2016

This paper presents an experimental investigation to visualize cross-sectional two-phase flow structure and identify liquid-gas interface for condensation of steam at a low mass flux in a slightly inclined tube using the axial-viewing technique, which permits to look directly into flow during condensation of steam. In this technique, two-phase flow is viewed along the axis of a pipe by locating a high-speed video camera in front of a viewer that is fitted at the outlet of the pipe. A short section of the pipe is illuminated and is recorded through the viewer, which is kept free of liquid by mildly introducing air. Experiments were conducted in a pipe of 19.05 mm in inner diameter at atmospheric pressure. Cross-sectional two-phase flow structure is obtained at a steam mass flux of $2.62kg/m^2s$ as a function of steam quality in the range from 0.5 to 0.9. The results show that stratified-wavy flow is a unique flow pattern observed in the scope of the present study. Condensate film thickness, stratification angle and void fraction were measured from the obtained flow structure images. Finally, heat transfer coefficient was calculated using the measurement data and discussed in comparison with existing correlations.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2119-2123
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• 2007

This study deals with performance characteristics of heat pipe combined with a solid-liquid phase change material(PCM). The outer diameter of the heat pipe was 9.5 mm and the total length was 600 mm, where the evaporator, the adiabatic section and the condenser lengths were equally 200 mm. A paraffin wax having a melting point of 58.5$^{\circ}C$ was used as PCM. The paraffin container was attached to the adiabatic section of the heat pipe. The paraffin container had outer diameter of 18 mm, wall thickness of 1.2 mm and the total length of 100 mm. The heat pipe was tested with tilt angle of horizontal degree and favorite angle 10 degree, with evaporator lower position to provide stable operation of the heat pipe. Input thermal load was varied from 40 W, with increment of 40 W, to above 100 W until the maximum temperature of the heat pipe wall reached 200$^{\circ}C$. Test results of the PCM heat pipe were presented in comparison with conventional heat pipe of the same basic dimensions. The performance was analyzed in terms of temperature distribution, thermal resistance and heat transport capability.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1604-1615
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• 2023

In an open-pool type research reactor with a downward forced flow in the core, pipes can be under sub-atmospheric pressure because of the large pressure drop at the reactor core in the atmospheric pool. Sub-atmospheric pressure can result in air inflow into the pipe from the pressure difference between the atmosphere and the inside of the pipe, which in a postulated pipe break scenario can lead to the breakdown of the cooling pump. In this study, a plant-scale experiment was conducted to study air inflow in large piping systems by considering the actual operational conditions of an advanced research reactor. The air inflow rate was measured, and the entrained air was visualized to investigate the behavior of air inflow and flow regime depending on the pipe break size. In addition, the developed drift-flux model for a large vertical pipe with a diameter of 600 mm was compared with other correlations. The flow regime transition in a large vertical pipe under downward flow was also studied using the newly developed drift-flux model. Consequently, the characteristics of two-phase flow in a large vertical pipe were found to differ from those in small vertical pipes where liquid recirculation was not dominant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.301-306
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• 1996

To predict the average liquid level under the condition of the countercurrent stratified two-phase flow in a pipe, an analytical model has been suggested. This is made by introducing the interfacial level gradient into the liquid-phase and the gas-phase momentum equations. The analytical method for the gas-phase pressure drop calculation with f$_i$ $\neq$ f$_G$ has also been described using the liquid level prediction model developed in the present study.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1533-1540
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• 2001

A high-temperature sodium stainless steel heat pipe was fabricated and its performance has been investigated. The working fluid was sodium and it was sealed inside a straight tube container made of stainless steel. The amount of sodium occupied approximately 20% of the total volume of the heat pipe and its weight was 65.7gram. The length of a stainless steel container is 1002mm and its outside diameter is 25.4mm. Performance tests were carried out in a room air condition under a free convective environment and the measured temperatures are presented. The start-up behavior of the heat pipe from a frozen state was investigated for various heat input values between 600W and 1205W. In steady state, axial temperature distributions of a heat pipe were measured and its heat transfer rates were estimated in the range of vapor temperature from 50$0^{\circ}C$ to 63$0^{\circ}C$. It is found that there are small temperature differences in the vapor core along the axial direction of a sodium heat pipe for the high operating temperatures. But for the range of low operating temperatures there are large temperature drops along the vapor core region of a sodium heat pipe, because a small vapor pressure drop makes a large temperature drop. The transition temperature was reached more rapidly in the cases of high heat input rate for the sodium heat pipe.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.E
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• pp.17-28
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• 1999

Gas-liquid contact tests above a perforated-plate were conducted with air and water at flooding gas-flow conditions in order to study two-phase flow characteristics in a limestone-gypsum SO2 absorber. Gas layers were in the form of air pockets and confined to the limited areas around each duct pipe, while the remaining tary area were in the wet condition. The liquid above the tray was always in the flooded and even fluidized conditions at gas flows over the range studied, although vigorous bubbly or churn-turbulent two-phase regime was only observed in the immediate vicinity of the gas hole exit at low gas loads. The froth zone was extremely active to provide intimate contact between gas and liquid so that the necessary mass transfer operation can take place, which is the primary purpose of high-performance SO2 absorbers. Howefer, the absorber $\Delta$P was 250mmH2O for the initial water level at 150mm, which is an important issue to be resolved for economical operation of the SO2 absorber. It was seen in the liquid level-and gas flow-transient tests that changes in the absorber liquid inventory were much more pronounced for intimate gas-liquid contact than changes in the gas flow. Based on the 4- and 8-duct pipe test results, grouping the duct pipes near the center of the test tray seemed to promote better recirulation of liquid from gas-liquid contact zone back to the reaction tank so that the absorbed SO2 can be neutralized.