Effect of Flow Resistance of Floating-Type Check Valves on Heat Transfer Characteristics of an Oscillating Heat Pipe

An oscillating heat pipe with check valves (CVOHP) is an attractive heat transfer device for future spacecraft with considerable heat dissipation and ground applications. This study aims to clarify the effect of the flow resistance of floating-type check valves on the heat transfer characteristics of the CVOHP using a one-dimensional slug flow model, which simulates the five-turn CVOHP used in the on-orbit experiment by the authors. The numerical simulations were conducted for different flow resistances, positions, and numbers of check valves. The results showed that the thermal resistance of the CVOHP increases with the flow resistance of the check valves, while there is no significant effect on the startup characteristics. The thermal resistance increased by more than 100% in the worst case, and the recommended flow resistance coefficient of the check valve was below 100 in this study for high thermal performance. The thermal resistance increases with an increasing number of high-resistance check valves but is less affected by the position of the valve. Additionally, the higher the heat input, the greater the effect of the flow resistance of the check valves. According to the findings in this study, it is necessary to control the flow resistance of the floating-type check valves at a low level for the high thermal performance of a CVOHP.