Experimental investigation of loop heat pipe with novel interlaced microchannel condenser

Abstract A condenser is an important component of a loop heat pipe. The high condensation efficiency of a condenser allows steam to be condensed rapidly. In this study, a new interlaced microchannel condenser is designed for a loop heat pipe. The steam and liquid channels of the condenser are arranged on the same side of the substrate. The steam and cooling water are counter-flowed in the water–steam–water arrangement. Heat exchange is performed at the side walls of the channel. The effective heat transfer area is 6.4 times that of the traditional parallel condenser. The effects of the microchannel structure and inlet parameters of the cooling water on the heat transfer performance of the loop heat pipe are investigated. The experimental results show that the preparation and startup times of the interlaced loop heat pipes are 60 and 140 s, respectively, which are lower than those of the parallel counterparts. A lower evaporator temperature and less temperature fluctuations are observed with the application of the interlaced condenser. The optimal cooling water parameters for improving the heat transfer performance are a flow rate of 300 mL/min and temperature of 20 °C, and no other energy is added.