Investigation of oscillatory flow in an oscillating heat pipe with random initial conditions

The effects of the initial conditions on the oscillatory flow in oscillating heat pipes (OHPs) are investigated numerically. The initial vapor temperature, pressure, and liquid displacement are taken into consideration. Three test cases are solved with different initial condition settings. The liquid displacement and vapor temperature tendencies are compared to find the initial condition that led to the best heat transfer performance in all test cases. Fast Fourier transform was employed to calculate the frequency based on liquid displacement. The results show that the initial conditions have a significant effect on OHP performance. Keeping the initial conditions uniform is an effective way for heat transfer enhancement of the system.