Improved Switchable Heat Pipe Based on Adsorption: Against-Gravity Operation and Enhanced Dynamics

Simon Boda, Markus Winkler (), Robert Schießl, Christian Teicht, Daniel Schwarz, Jan Schipper, Kilian Bartholomé, Olaf Schäfer-Welsen and Sandra Pappert
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Simon Boda: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Technology IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Markus Winkler: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Technology IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Robert Schießl: Institute of Technical Thermodynamics ITT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, Engelbert-Arnold-Straße 4, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Christian Teicht: Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Strasse 7, 76327 Pfinztal, Germany
Daniel Schwarz: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Technology IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Jan Schipper: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Technology IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Kilian Bartholomé: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Technology IPM, Georges-Koehler-Allee 301, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
Olaf Schäfer-Welsen: Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Technology 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, 2024, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: Controlling heat transfer through components with adjustable thermal resistance can be of great benefit in a wide range of applications such as the thermal management of spacecraft or electric vehicles. A novel concept for both thermal switching and thermal regulation is the use of a water-loaded adsorbent within a reservoir that a regular heat pipe is expanded with. By reversibly desorbing or adsorbing water, states of low and high thermal resistance can be achieved. This concept has been studied so far only in thermosiphons that rely on gravity support. To expand potential application fields, we successfully investigated the utilization of heat pipes with a capillary structure, achieving against-gravity operation. Adsorption-based heat pipe demonstrators were experimentally examined regarding their characteristic properties. Thermal resistances during the on and off state of 0.25 KW −1 and 6.5 KW −1 , respectively, were measured, yielding switching ratios of up to 26. Furthermore, the role of the adsorbent reservoir heat exchanger was examined and found to have a significant potential to yield an improvement with regards to dynamic performance. With an improved demonstrator design, the dynamic performance was enhanced as the hysteresis behavior was reduced and a minimum switching time of 5 min was recorded.

Keywords: thermal management; heat pipe; adsorption; thermal switch; thermal regulator (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: 2024
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