This paper introduces a novel heat transfer mechanism that facilitates two-phase heat transfer while eliminating the so-called cavitation problem commonly encountered by a conventional pump. The heat transfer device is coined as the reciprocating-mechanism driven heat loop (RMDHL), which includes a hollow loop having an interior flow passage, an amount of working fluid filled within the loop, and a reciprocating driver. The hollow loop has an evaporator section, a condenser section, and a liquid reservoir. The reciprocating driver is integrated with the liquid reservoir and facilitates a reciprocating flow of the working fluid within the loop, so that liquid is supplied from the condenser section to the evaporator section under a substantially saturated condition and the so-called cavitation problem associated with a conventional pump is avoided. The reciprocating driver could be a solenoid-operated reciprocating driver for electronics cooling applications and a bellows-type reciprocating driver for high-temperature applications. Experimental study has been undertaken for a solenoid-operated heat loop in connection with high heat flux thermal management applications. Experimental results show that the heat loop worked very effectively and a heat flux as high as 300 W/cm2 in the evaporator section could be handled. The applications of the bellows-type reciprocating heat loop for gas turbine nozzle guide vanes and the leading edges of hypersonic vehicles are also illustrated. The new heat transfer device is expected to advance the current two-phase heat transfer device and open up a new frontier for further research and development.
