Structure Components of Heat Pipe Heat Exchangers

Structure Components of Heat Pipe Heat Exchangers

Heat pipe heat exchanger is generally composed of three parts: heat pipe, partition and shell.

Heat pipe is the core heat transfer element of the heat pipe heat exchanger, usually a sealed metal tube, tube filled with a certain amount of working liquid. Working fluid in the hot end of the heat pipe absorbs heat and boiling vaporisation, resulting in steam flow to the cold end of the condensation of latent heat release, condensate and then back to the hot end, so repeated cycles, to achieve heat transfer from the hot end to the cold end.

The partition is used to separate the cold and hot fluid channels, so that the cold and hot fluid flows in different areas, while the heat pipe passes through the partition to achieve the heat exchange between the two.

The shell acts as a protector and support, providing space for the heat pipes and the bulkheads to be mounted and preventing fluid leakage.

In some high-temperature heat pipe heat exchangers, the entire heat exchanger is also divided into a high-temperature heat pipe zone, a medium-temperature heat pipe zone, and a low-temperature heat pipe zone. Different heat pipe media may be used in the different temperature zones to suit the corresponding operating temperature range.

For example, in the low-temperature zone (working temperature limit of 250 ℃ or less), often using water (after chemical treatment) as a heat pipe mass; in the medium-temperature zone (working temperature limit in the range of 250 ~ 400 ℃), the use of naphthalene as a heat pipe mass; in the high-temperature zone (working temperature of 600 ℃ or more), it is often used in the heat pipe of the liquid metal, such as sodium, because of the liquid metal has a good thermal stability and low The liquid metal has good thermal stability and low saturated vapour pressure, and has a high latent heat of vaporisation at high temperatures, which enables it to transfer a high amount of heat.