Study of convective condensation in a thermosiphon loop
In this article, we focus on the condenser of a loop thermosiphon designed to cool power electronic component. The objective here is to condense Novec 649, our chosen working fluid for this loop. It is a fluid recently developed by 3M, which is known for having low environmental impact and non-flammable. We first present a theoretical analysis with the calculation and the hypotheses leading to the design of the multi-tubular condenser. Then we present a full size thermosiphon built for experimental validation. A discussion then addresses some of the design hypotheses. Three main parameters are studied : the tilting angle of the condenser (from horizontal to vertical orientations), the temperature of the coolant and finally the mass flow effect at different saturation temperatures. In our setup, we dissipate up to 2.4 kW at the evaporator level. The produced vapor is then condensed in the heat exchanger using cold water flowing at countercurrent. A number of measurements are made via thermocouples and pressure sensors located at both ends of the condenser to measure the average heat exchange coefficient.
