BackgroundThe heat pipe reactor has the characteristics of small size, simple system, no pump or valve or active equipment, and high inherent reliability. It is one of the preferred reactors used in deep sea, deep space and other fields. In the systematic analysis of the reactor, the point reactor model is often used to deal with the reactor neutron dynamics problem. Similarly, a heat pipe model is also needed to deal with the heat transfer problem of the heat pipe during the systematic analysis of the heat pipe reactor.PurposeThis study aims to solve the problem of heat pipe simulation method in the process of heat pipe reactor system analysis by proposing an improved heat pipe model.MethodsFirstly, a new heat pipe model was proposed to combine the traditional thermal resistance network model and flat-front method, hence not only had clear and concise physical meaning, but also could simulate the steady/quasi-steady state of the heat pipe, as well as the startup process of the heat pipe. Then, the one-dimensional multiphysics tool Simscape in MATLAB/Simulink was employed for simulation analysis of heat pipes by dividing more fine grids and combining the calculation methods of the thermal resistance network model and flat-front method. Finally, the calculation results of this model were compared with the simulation or experimental results in the literature, and this model was used to deal with the problem of equivalent multiple heat pipes with a single heat pipe.ResultsSimulation results of the proposed new model show that a smooth and continuous time-temperature curve is obtained without a step curve. Comparison results indicate that the maximum temperature difference is less than 15%, and the maximum temperature difference is at the heat pipe evaporator wall.ConclusionsThis model can simulate the heat pipe in different states, with accurate calculation results and less computational burden.
Zhang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.