Heat Pipes: How Different Inclinations and Heat Fluxes Determine Thermal Conductivity In Heat Transfer

A heat pipe is a type of heat transfer device that is used to transfer heat quickly and effectively through an interface. A heat pipe is filled composed of a metal rod which is filled up with purely one substance. In an optimal setup for a heat pipe, one side of the heat pipe is in contact with a hot surface while the other side is in contact with a cold surface. Once the liquid reaches the hot end, the liquid will evaporate into gas and travel to the cold end only for it to condensate and turn back into a liquid. When the gas condenses, latent heat is removed. Our heat pipe is a copper rod filled with pure deionized water. With our heat pipe, we will be conducting experiments with it to determine the optimal setup for the heat pipe to be as thermally conductive as possible. We will determine which of the two is the most thermally conductive. After conducting the procedures and completing the data analysis, we concluded that the heat pipe was substantially more thermally conductive than the copper pipe. The reason for this was due to the composition of the heat pipe. While a copper pipe was simply a solid copper rod with nothing else attached, the heat pipe was hollow and contained water. The water plays a huge role in making the entire machine more conductive as it can absorb much more than copper