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Experimental Investigation of Capillary-Driven Two-Phase Flow in Water/Butanol under Reduced Gravity Conditions

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Abstract

The capillary flow of water/butanol mixture is investigated in a single groove heat pipe model on board the Airbus A310 ‘Zero-G’ of the European Space Agency. As working fluid for evaporation-based heat transfer devices like conventional or pulsating heat pipes, these kinds of mixtures give more stable behaviour and higher dry-out limit with respect to pure water because of an anomalous behaviour of the surface tension with temperature. The groove is embedded in a semi-transparent test cell that allows for the qualitative visualization of the liquid distribution along the channel and is heated and cooled at two opposite sides with an electrical resistance and a water circulation system. The evaporation/condensation process is regulated changing the power input in a range between 5 and 30 W and the liquid distribution is detected from a top window using a CCD camera and a LED illumination device. The results show that the liquid distribution is affected by the gravity level and this effect is normally masked on ground.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the European Space Agency through the MAP (Microgravity Application Promotion) project: “Innovative Wickless Heat Pipe Systems for Ground and Space Applications (INWIP)”. ESTEC Contract number: 4000115115/15/NL/PG. Special thanks must be given to NOVESPACE team in Bordeaux for their assistance and to Dr. B. Toth (ESA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Engineering-Aerospace Section, University of Naples “FEDERICO II”, 80 P. le V. Tecchio, 80125, Naples, Italy

    Anselmo Cecere, Giuseppe D. Di Martino & Stefano Mungiguerra

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  1. Anselmo Cecere
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  2. Giuseppe D. Di Martino
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  3. Stefano Mungiguerra
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Correspondence to Anselmo Cecere.

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This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Heat Pipe Systems for Thermal Management in Space

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Cecere, A., Di Martino, G.D. & Mungiguerra, S. Experimental Investigation of Capillary-Driven Two-Phase Flow in Water/Butanol under Reduced Gravity Conditions. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 31, 425–434 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-019-09723-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-019-09723-9

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