Abstract
In recent years there has been a demand for the development of highly efficient heat exchangers for the purpose of saving energy and resources. A heat pipe is a heat exchanging device which operates with no external power in a closed system and transports a large amount of heat with a very small temperature difference between the ends of the pipe. Therefore, heat pipes are extremely effective at solving energy and environmental problems. A thermosyphon is a gravity-assisted heat pipe which uses gravity to drive the working fluid from the condenser section to the evaporator section. Many thermosyphons are of the geostationary type, and they have been the subject of considerable research. In contrast, there seem to be no studies concerning accelerating thermosyphons. In this study, we have considered the two-phase closed thermosyphon under an acceleration field. We investigated the heat transfer characteristics of the thermosyphon with dropwise condensation in the condenser section, which was subjected to sinusoidal oscillation in a vertical direction. As a result, we found that the heat transfer of the thermosyphon was enhanced by oscillation.
