What are Heat Pipes/Heat Exchangers?

Heat pipe is Heat transfer devices. They are Hollow cylindrical pipes, filled with a small/little amount of working fluid that evaporates to produce heat. This heat then rejected from another end for its application on various industrial processes. For example, heat pipe is used in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration application.

A heat pipe is a closed evaporator-condenser cylindrical system sealed under vacuum with a small amount of working fluid. During non-operation, the working fluid contained inside the wick structure lines the inner diameter of the heat pipe. When heat is applied to the heat pipe, the liquid in the wick gets heated and forms a vapor. After that, the fluid vapor fills the entire pipe quickly spreads to the other end of the heat pipe.

At the destination end, known as the condenser, the heat given up by working fluid is rejected to an external heat sink. The fluid then returns via wick structure and passively pumps the fluid back to the heat source using capillary force. By utilizing this liquid and vapor phases, the heat pipe heat exchanger is extremely efficient. Because of its closed loop system, a heat pipe operates passively and continuously without any disturbance, creating a very reliable and efficient thermal management system.

Working Principle
The working of a heat pipe is base on the principles of Thermal Conductivity and Phase Transfer. Basically heat pipe is a closed tube with an internal wick material and small amount of working fluid of which one end situated is in the heat generation section and other end at heat dissipation area. Heat transfer is done by high thermal conductivity and dissipation is done to desired location by using the phenomena known as “capillary action”.
http://www.maniks.com/heat-pipe-heat-exchangers.html
Working of Maniks Heat Pipe
Maniks heat pipe is constructed with a wick or capillary structure, a working fluid and a vacuum sealed tube. As discussed earlier one end of the pipe is kept in the heat generating area and other end will be operating as a condensation or heat dissipation unit. The wick structure lines the inner surface of the heat pipe and is saturated with the working fluid. The wick structure plays very important role to perform capillary action for heat transfer process.
When one end of the heat pipe is heated temperature of the liquid inside the heat pipe will also increases gradually and after large temperature increase it vaporizes. These vapors travel towards the colder end and carries latent heat associated heat with it. At colder end vapor dissipates all the latent heat and turns back into liquid form this liquid then travels back to heated end. This process is carried out continuously and the heat transfer takes place through a very safe effortless way.
The transfer of heat through heat pipe takes place very quickly with very less temperature drop over a long distance.

Why Maniks?
Maniks is a traditional supplier of electromechanical devices since last three decades. They have proven their prominence for contribution in heat pipes repeatedly. Maniks products are always with the best quality and performance. Following points will help us to know how Maniks heat pipe is a better choice.
Heat pipes have lot many advantageous points over the conventional thermal pipes they are as follows
• High Thermal Conductivity (10,000 to 100,000 W/m K)
• Reliable
• Passive operation
• Low Cost
• Shock/Vibration tolerant
• Freeze/thaw tolerant

Heat Pipes in Various Industries:
1) Electronics and Electrical devices cooling: Heat pipes are used to cool transistors and high density semiconductors by extraction of heat from these devices.
2) Heat Exchangers: Power industries use heat pipe heat exchangers as air heaters on boilers.
3) Aerospace applications: Heat pipes have also proven in aerospace applications that transmit thermal energy at rates millions of times greater and with a superior energy-to-weight ratio which can be gained from the most efficient solid conductor.
4) Other applications: Production, medicine and human body temperature control, engines and automotive industry etc.

Heat Pipe Applications:
Apart from above applications heat pipes have been used in the following areas
• Waste Heat Recovery from Air Conditioners
• Heat Pipe Air Preheaters for Boilers
• Waste Heat Boilers to Recovery Heat
• Heat Recovery at the Kiln Furnace
• Spray Drying
http://www.maniks.com/