A Study of Self-Circulating Thermosyphon for Transport of Solar Thermal Energy

Abstract

The dynamic characteristics of a self-circulating thermosyphon (SCTS) for the utilization of solar thermal energy were investigated. This thermosyphon uses the vapor generated when the working fluid is heated in the heat collector. Therefore, SCTS does not have an external drive source. In this study, the dynamic characteristics of SCTS were investigated by experiments and numerical simulations when the heat input of SCTS was changed. As a result, it was showed that a large flow fluctuation appeared at the initial stage of start-up, and its frequency is affected by the quality of working fluid in the heat collector. These suggest that the characteristics of the dynamic fluctuation are affected by the boiling state in the heat collector.