HEAT PIPE DEMONSTRATOR

1. OBJECTIVE

To demonstrate the super thermal conductivity of heat pipe and to compare its
working with best conductor i.e. Cu pipe & SS pipe.

2. AIM

 To plot the temperature vs time response of three pipes.

 To plot the temperature distribution along the length of three pipes at different
time intervals.

3. THEORY

The heat pipe is a device, which transfers heat by boiling a fluid at one end
and condensing it on other end of a pipe. The evaporation and condensation
processes are responsible for the nearly isothermal working of the heat pipe.
The condensed liquid is transferred back to boiling area by the capillary action
through a wick structure in the heat pipe. This use of capillary action for
pumping the liquid back is the unique characteristic of the heat pipe.

Heat pipes are particularly useful in energy conservation equipment where it

is desired to recover heat from hot gases for air preheats or supplemental
heating applications. In some cases the heat pipe can take the place of more
costly combinations of pumps, piping and dual heat exchanger configurations.

4. OBSERVATIONS

OBSERVATION TABLE
Sr. t( T1(d T2(d T3(d T4(d T5(d T6(d T7(d T8(d T9(d T10( T11( T12(
No mi eg. eg. eg. eg. eg. eg. eg. eg. eg. deg. deg. deg.
. n) C) C) C) C) C) C) C) C) C) C) C) C)
1 0 31.6 35.3 34.3 31.8 45.4 36.8 32 30.8 52.3 34.9 32.4 31.7
2 10 35.2 34.2 33.1 32.5 43.5 35.6 31.2 31.7 54.1 35.2 31.3 31.8
3 20 37 36.1 34.8 32.7 45.7 37.1 32.8 31.8 56.4 36.9 34.9 32.4
4 30 35.7 34.7 33.5 32.7 43.9 35.8 31.6 32.2 56.8 35.8 31.8 32.6
5 40 36.7 35 33.8 33.6 44.3 36.3 32 32.8 56.2 36.2 32.7 34.9
Temperature of sensors for heat pipe = T1, T2, T3
Temperature of water in the water tank for heat pipe = T4
Temperature of sensors for copper pipe = T5, T6, T7
Temperature of water in the water tank for copper pipe = T8
Temperature of sensors for SS pipe = T9, T10, T11
Temperature of water in the water tank for SS pipe = T12
Initial Voltage = 41V
Current(I) = 0.17A
Q = V×I = 41×0.17 = 6.97W

T4 vs t for Heat Pipe T8 vs t for Copper Pipe

34 33 32.8
33.6
33.5 32.5
32.2

33 32 31.8
32.7 32.7 31.7
T8 in degree Celcius
T4 in degree Celcius

32.5
32.5 31.5

32 31.8 31 30.8

31.5 30.5

31 30

30.5 29.5
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
t in min t in min.

T12 vs t for SS Pipe T = 0 MIN

36 60
SS Pipe
34.9
35 50

Cu Pipe
40
T12 in degree Celcius

34
Heat Pipe
30
33 32.6
32.4
20
31.7 31.8
32
10

31
0
0 100 200 300 400
30 (X1, X2, X3) IN MM
0 10 20 30 40
t in min. Heat pipe Cu Pipe SS Pipe
 T = 10 MIN T = 20 MIN
60 60 SS Pipe
SS Pipe
50 50
Cu Pipe
Cu Pipe
40 40
Heat Pipe
Heat Pipe
30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
0 100 200 300 400 0 100 200 300 400
(X1, X2, X3) IN MM (X1, X2, X3) IN MM

Heat Pipe Cu Pipe SS Pipe Heat Pipe Cu Pipe SS Pipe

T = 30 MIN T = 40 MIN
60 SS Pipe 60 SS Pipe

50 50
Cu Pipe Cu Pipe

40 40

Heat Pipe Heat Pipe

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
0 100 200 300 400 0 100 200 300 400
(X1, X2, X3) IN MM (X1, X2, X3) IN MM

Heat Pipe Cu Pipe SS Pipe Heat Pipe Cu Pipe SS Pipe

5. RESULTS

By comparing the above data we conclude that heat pipes conduct more heat than
Cu pipes which in turn conduct more heat than Stainless Steel Pipes. The value of
heat generated per unit time comes out to be 6.97W.

6. PRECAUTIONS

 Never run the apparatus if power supply is less than 200 volts and more than 230
volts.
 Never switch ON mains power supply before ensuring that all the ON/OFF
switches given on the panel are at OFF position.

7. DISCUSSION
We learnt about the Super thermal conductivity of heat pipe and its working
principle. The heat pipe is a device, which transfers heat by boiling a fluid at
one end and condensing it on other end of a pipe. The evaporation and
condensation are responsible for the nearly isothermal working of the heat pipe.
So as you can see the condensed liquid is transferred back to the heat sources by
the wick structure by capillary action. This is the unique characteristic of the heat
pipe.

We demonstrated the super thermal conductivity of heat pipe by comparing

its properties with Copper and Stainless Steel Pipes. We plotted the temperature
vs time graph for the three pipes and also we plotted and compared the
temperature distribution of the three pipes with time.
We set equal amount of heat to be given to each of the pipes at one of their
ends by fixing the value of voltage and the current. We observed that the
temperature variation with time was highest in Stainless Steel pipe followed by the
Copper pipe and then followed by the Heat Pipe. This concludes that Heat Pipes
have the highest thermal conductivity followed by the Copper pipes and then the
Stainless Steel Pipes. The graphical result supports the above statement and thus
demonstrates the Super Thermal Conducitvity of Heat Pipes.