Abstract:

Heat pipes have become popular as passive heat dissipation devices for many applications ranging from electronics to heat recovery in recent years. Pulsating Heat Pipe abbreviated as PHP is an exclusive category of a heat pipe which does have wick structure. It transfers heat between its evaporator and condenser sections due to the to and fro movement of working fluid caused due to the continuous change of phase taking place in it. Its operation involves combined hydrodynamic and thermodynamic effects causing the two-phase flow, making it difficult to fully understand it. Nevertheless, the PHPs have drawn the attention of investigators worldwide due to their simplicity in construction and a wide range of applications requiring high heat flux transfer. This review starts with a prologue of the attempts made by various investigators to explain the operation of PHPs through mathematical modeling. Later numerical simulations through Computational Fluid Dynamics of PHP performed by various investigators have been discussed. Review of latest experimental investigations performed on PHPs, is presented concisely in a tabular form. Novel concepts like the application of nanofluids, magnetic field and surfactant, applied for enhancing the performance of the PHPs have been discussed. At the end, applications of PHP and future scope have been discussed.

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