Investigate the usage of heat pipe as air conditioning unit

Lee, Kai Fan (2022) Investigate the usage of heat pipe as air conditioning unit. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

Solutions are provided by the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry to improve the thermal comfort in the day to day lives of mankind. Conventional air conditioners and air cooler are commonly used to reduce the temperature of a space. In this final year project, the aim is to explore the concept of heat pipe air conditioner (HPAC). Heat pipes are passive heat transfer devices which relied on the phase change of its working fluid to remove heat, while air conditioners are devices which actively remove heat from a space via superheating its refrigerant. The hybridization of the two devices will allow a heat pipe to transfer heat actively. Once the concept of HPAC has been validated, this final year project will attract the interest of other researchers to further improve the current model. Optimistically, the HPAC can be introduced into the HVAC industry as a cheaper and more energy efficient alternative to air conditioner and air cooler. Two methods were formulated to validate the concept. One of the methods was to develop a mathematical model, which analysed the thermodynamic cycle of the HPAC. A prototype was also constructed to examine the cooling performance of the HPAC in actual conditions. In the mathematical model, it is shown that when the evaporator and condenser pressure were manipulated to the proper saturation pressure of the working fluid, heat transfer will occur. On the other hand, from the experiment, when isopropyl alcohol is used as working fluid, the evaporator experience significant increase in ∆T over time at low evaporator pressure (absolute pressure: 26 kPa to 60 kPa). The ∆T over time can be taken as an indicator of the cooling performance of the prototype. Hence, a significant increase in ∆T over time indicated that the prototype has performed cooling at low evaporator pressures. Lastly, the prototype performed the best at evaporator pressure of 26 kPa, when isopropyl alcohol, as the highest ∆

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