Design, Construction and Testing of a Horizontal Thermosyphon Boiler
Keywords:
Boiler, Thermosyphon, Bent Pipe, Performance, Boiling PointAbstract
The present experimental study, which involved the design, construction and testing of a horizontal thermosyphon boiler, aimed at investigating the general behavior of the developed boiler as well as at determining the influences of liquid return rate, optimum filling ratio of a working fluid (water) and overall heat transfer performance of the boiler. The boiler was made of copper tubing with an inner diameter of 123 mm and a length of 250 mm. Constant heat flux in the range of 10–100 kW/m2 and constant temperature in the range of 50–90◦C were used in the experiments. A condenser was cooled by cold water at a constant temperature of 25◦C. The results showed that the developed thermosyphon boiler could transfer heat in much the same way as a typical thermosyphon cycle. Returning liquid return flowing above the boiling surface of the bended pipe was found effective on increasing the heat transfer performance. An optimum filling ratio was noted to be 10% of the system volume, with the lowest total thermal resistance of 0.065 ◦C/W and heat flux of 100 kW/m2.
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