Experiments in a single-phase natural circulation mini-loop

This study reports an experimental investigation related to a rectangular single-phase natural circulation mini-loop, which consists of two horizontal copper tubes (heat transfer sections) and two vertical tubes (legs) made of copper, connected by means of four glass 90° bends. The loop inner diameter is 4 mm. The lower heating section consists of an electrical heating wire made of nicromel on the outside of the copper tube; the upper cooling system consists of a coaxial cylindrical heat exchanger with a water–glycol mixture, set at controlled temperature and flowing through the annulus. The loop has an imposed heat flux in the lower heating section and an imposed temperature in the cooler. The mini-loop was placed onto a table which can assume different inclinations. The parameters investigated during the experiments were: power transferred to the fluid and inclination of the loop. The preliminary results show a stable behaviour with a steady temperature difference across the heat sinks. It has been confirmed that the fluid velocity is very small (order of millimetres per second).