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The thermal performance of a flat-plate oscillating heat pipe (FP-OHP) - with modified evaporator and condenser was experimentally investigated during high heat flux conditions. The copper FP-OHP (101.6 × 101.6 × 3.18 mm3) possessed two inter-connected layers of 1.02 mm2 square channels with the evaporator and condenser possessing two parallel, 0.25 × 0.51 mm2 square microchannels. The microchannels were integrated to enhance evaporation and condensation heat transfer to improve the FP-OHP’s ability to transport high heat flux. The FP-OHP was oriented vertically and locally heated with a 14.52 cm2 heating block at its base and cooled with a water block that provided either: 20 °C, 40 °C, or 60 °C operating temperatures. A FP-OHP without embedded microchannels was also investigated for baseline performance comparison. Both FP-OHPs were filled with Novec HFE-7200 (3M) working fluid at a filling ratio of approximately 80% by volume. The maximum temperature of each FP-OHP was recorded versus time for various heat inputs for the investigated operating temperatures. The results indicate that the integrated microchannels enhance the FP-OHP’s thermal performance for all operating temperatures. At 20 °C, 40 °C, and 60 °C, the microchannel-embedded evaporator and condenser dissipated 80 W, 65 W, and 55 W more than the baseline control with a minimum thermal resistance of 0.219 °C/W, 0.205 °C/W, and 0.170 °C/W, respectively — corresponding to a percent enhancement on-the-order of 25%. This percent enhancement increased with operating temperature. It has also been shown that Novec HFE-7200 allows the FP-OHP to start at relatively lower heat inputs — as low as 35 W, demonstrating that this working fluid can enhance heat transfer even at lower heat flux applications.

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Abstract The thermal and capillary performance of a groove-enhanced, or ‘microchannel-embedded’, flat-plate oscillating heat pipe (MC FP-OHP) was experimentally investigated while varying heating width, orientation, working fluid and operating temperature. The copper MC FP-OHP possessed two layers of 1.02 × 1.02 mm2 square channels, with the center 14 channels possessing two embedded microchannels (0.25 × 0.13 mm2) aligned coaxially with the primary minichannels. A FP-OHP without embedded microchannels, but with deeper minichannels (DC FP-OHP), was also tested for comparison. The FP-OHPs were filled with Novec 7200 or water (both at 80% ± 2% by volume), and the heating widths were varied between full-width and localized configurations: 38.71 cm2 and 14.52 cm2, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that the MC FP-OHP is significantly less sensitive to operating orientation and can perform with less detriment as heat flux increases. The MC FP-OHP has a lower startup heating requirement and provides more fluid wetting along the FP-OHP structure – which is advantageous for pumping liquid from the evaporator to condenser. The MC FP-OHP has enhanced convective heat transfer during operation, as it was observed to have similar or lower thermal resistances to that of the DC FP-OHP for a wide range of operating conditions. The groove-enhanced minichannel within the MC FP-OHP also provides for enhanced heat transfer due to there being more thin film evaporation sites and vapor-liquid mixing between the minichannel and microchannels

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