Modeling and analysis of startup of a loop heat pipe

The startup behavior of a loop heat pipe (LHP) is one of the key aspects in evaluating its working performance. A mathematical model of the startup process of a LHP is established based on the node network method in this work. A parametric analysis on the startup characteristics of the LHP is conducted, where the effects of startup heat load, thermal capacity of the evaporator and compensation chamber, heat sink temperature, ambient temperature, heat leak from the evaporator to the compensation chamber and cooling on the compensation chamber on the startup characteristics of the LHP are evaluated, which contributes to the improvement of the LHP startup performance.