Enhancement of heat transport in oscillating heat pipe with ternary fluid

The thermo-physical properties of working fluids play an important role in the heat transport performance of an oscillating heat pipe (OHP). In the present study, the heat transport performance of the OHP is investigated using two types of binary fluids and a type of ternary fluid as the working fluids. The working fluids include a nanofluid, self-rewetting fluid, and a mixed solution of self-rewetting fluid and a nanofluid called self-rewetting nanofluid. The tilt angle of the OHP is 90° with a charge ratio of 50%. In contrast to de-ionized water used as a base working fluid in the OHP, all working fluids can enhance the heat transport performance of the OHP. However, through an analysis of the enhancement ratios, it is found that nanofluids can only enhance the performance of an OHP within a heat load range of 30–70 W. The maximal enhancement ratio is about 11% as the heat load is 60 W. If the heat load exceeds 70 W, the heat transport performance of the OHP degrades. For a self-rewetting fluid, the maximum of enhancement ratio is only 6% as the heat load is less than 30 W, and then, as the heat load increases, the enhancement ratio decreases gradually. The OHP that uses self-rewetting nanofluids shows excellent heat transport performance over the entire heat load range. The maximal enhancement ratio is approximately 15%. Therefore, self-rewetting nanofluids are considered to be appropriate working fluids for use in the OHPs.