Experimental Study on Thermal Performance of a Heat Pipe Using Different Refrigerants as a Working Fluid

Heat pipes, meanwhile, refer to an efficient and passive cooling device utilizing the liquid phase change of the circulating fluid in transferring latent heat. An elementary design of a copper heat pipe was developed and constructed, taking refrigerant R-600a and R-134a as the working fluid. Experimental data were taken and analyzed from 46oC over 90 minutes with measurements taken every 10 minutes. Consequently, the average cooling rates were found 0.100oC min-1 for R-600a and 0.101oC min-1 for R-134a. However, R-600a faster initial pull down in temperature till 40oC whereas R-134a showed greater late stage approach to lower set-point temperature till 38oC. Evidently, the results confirm that the selection of working fluid should be based on operating temperature regime for better outcomes as well as both refrigerants are efficient in thermal management which can be employed as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional refrigerants in heat pipe applications.