Validation of a Thermosyphon Model and Evaluation of the Effects of Different Boundary Conditions on Its Performance Using Two-Fluid Methodology

A vertical two-phase thermosyphon working under steady-state operation is simulated by using the Euler-Euler two-fluid methodology. The thermosyphon model consists of a full scale axis-symmetric 2D geometry along with the thermosyphon cylinder wall and cooling water jacket. The interfacial heat and mass transfer effects due to evaporation and condensation are also included in the model along with the effects of conjugate heat transfer between the solid wall and fluid regions. The simulation predictions obtained are compared with available experimental results from the literature and a good agreement is found between them. The model is then used to predict the behavior of the thermosyphon under varying lengths of evaporator section while keeping the total heat input to the evaporator constant. The model is also simulated with different flow rates of the cooling water in the cooling water jacket section and with varying inlet temperatures of the cooling water. The results obtained in the current study suggest that two-fluid methodology can be used effectively to predict numerically the behavior of two-fluid systems with heat and mass transfer, like thermosyphons and heat pipes.
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