Investigation of the Temperature Hysteresis Phenomenon of a Loop Heat Pipe

The temperature hysteresis phenomenon of a Loop Heat Pipe (LHP) was experimentally investigated. The temperature hysteresis was identified by the fact that the operating temperature depends upon not only the imposed power but also the previous history of the power variation. The temperature hysteresis could impose limitations on the LHP applications since the LHP may exhibit different steady-state operating temperatures at a given power input even when the condenser sink temperature remains unchanged. In order to obtain insight to this phenomenon, a LHP was tested at different elevations and tilts by using an elaborated power profile. A hypothesis was suggested to explain the temperature hysteresis. This hypothesis explains well the experimental observations. Results of this study provide a better understanding of the performance characteristics of the LHPS.