ANALYSIS OF FLOW AND HEAT-TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ASYMMETRICAL FLAT-PLATE HEAT PIPE

An in-depth integral analysis revealing various physical aspects of an asymmetrical flat plate heat pipe is presented in this work. The resulting psuedo-three-dimensional vapor phase flow field is bifurcated on the x-y plane due to the asymmetrical nature of the heat source and sinks. The analytical results for the shifted vapor velocity profiles on the x-y plane, the overall axial pressure distributions in both vapor and liquid phases and the axial vapor temperature distribution in the heat pipe are obtained. There is good qualitative agreement between the present results and those based on the solution of the field equations for the conventional symmetrical case. The analysis provides accurate analytical expressions for velocity and pressure distributions for this type of non-conventional heat pipe.