Thermal Switch Based on an Adsorption Material in a Heat Pipe

Markus Winkler, Christian Teicht, Patrick Corhan, Angelos Polyzoidis, Kilian Bartholomé, Olaf Schäfer-Welsen and Sandra Pappert
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Markus Winkler: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Christian Teicht: Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Strasse 7, 76327 Pfinztal, Germany
Patrick Corhan: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Angelos Polyzoidis: Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Strasse 7, 76327 Pfinztal, Germany
Kilian Bartholomé: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Olaf Schäfer-Welsen: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Sandra Pappert: Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Strasse 7, 76327 Pfinztal, Germany

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-20

Abstract: For many applications, the possibility of controlling heat flow by “thermal switching” could be very beneficial. Several concepts for heat switches were already proposed and tested, however, many drawbacks of these concepts are evident. In this work, we present a novel approach for thermal switching using a water-loaded adsorbent as part of the evaporator of a heat pipe. The basic idea is that the adsorbent releases water upon exceeding a certain evaporator temperature, and thus “activates” the heat pipe by providing the working fluid for thermal transport. The first part of this work concentrates on the adsorbent characterization by analyzing the adsorption isobars and isotherms and thus understanding the behavior of the system. Furthermore, a model to predict the release of water from the adsorbent in dependence of temperature was developed. Subsequently, the adsorbent was integrated into an actual heat pipe demonstrator to verify these predictions and demonstrate the thermal switching ability. Overall results revealed a very good agreement between the predictions concerning water release and the heat pipe’s thermal behavior. The obtained thermal switching ratio depends on the heating power and temperature range that is considered. Depending on whether evaporator/condenser or the adiabatic zone are considered, average switching ratios of circa 3 and 18 were found, respectively.

Keywords: heat pipe; zeolite; adsorbent; thermal switch; heat switch; thermal management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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