Project Overview

Project Overview

Fundamentally, a heat pipe is a device that transmits thermal energy from one point to another. It accomplishes this both through the thermal conductivity of the pipe and through the phase transition of fluid within the pipe. Heat pipes can be used in any application that requires the transfer of heat, though they are used extensively for cooling applications such as CPU heat management, spacecraft radiators, and certain internal combustion engines. 

Source: Benchmark Reviews

An example of a complex heat pipe with radiator fins for computer heat management.

This project will focus on the ability of heat pipes to remove excess heat from a device and radiate it into the atmosphere. In this case, a heat pipe will be designed to remove heat from a small gasoline engine and safely transmit it to a heat sink which will radiate the heat into the atmosphere. This process is especially applicable to the Wankel rotary engine which has notorious problems due to uneven heating of the ignition chamber. Since many small gasoline engines serve stationary purposes with no air flow to help in cooling, heat pipes are a practical method of removing heat from the engine reliably without requiring any extra work.

Source: Cars in Trend

A diagram that displays the workings of a Wankel engine. Note that the combustion always takes place on the right side of the combustion chamber which causes uneven heating.

A heat pipe is a sealed pipe made from a thermally conductive material. Inside, it contains a working fluid which evaporates at the heat source (evaporator) and condenses at the radiator (condenser). In this project, a wick will be used to absorb condensed water on the condenser side and transmit it back to the evaporator side of the pipe through capillary motion. Some heat pipes use gravity or even centrifugal force to accomplish this, however a wick enables the heat pipe to lay horizontally which best suits the application in this project.

Source: Overclock

A diagram that shows the basic cyclical mechanisms of a heat pipe. 

The goal of this project is to create a working heat pipe that can effectively reduce the temperature from a heat source and effectively transmit it into the atmosphere.

Sources
Wu, W., Lin, Y., and Chow, L., "A Heat Pipe Assisted Air-Cooled Rotary Wankel Engine for Improved Durability, Power and Efficiency," SAE Technical Paper 2014-01-2160, 2014, doi:10.4271/2014-01-2160.