Thermal Management of Loop Heat Pipes
Summary
Loop heat pipes (LHPs) are passive two-phase devices that harness capillary forces within a porous wick to circulate a working fluid between an evaporator and a condenser. At the evaporator, heat input causes local liquid vapourisation; vapour then traverses a vapour transport line to a remote condenser, where it releases latent heat and reverts to liquid. The liquid returns through a separate line to a compensation chamber, which replenishes the wick and maintains stable operation. This arrangement affords high heat-flux capacity, long-distance heat transfer, compact form factor and immunity to gravity orientation, making LHPs attractive for spacecraft thermal control, high-power electronics and LED lighting. Key thermal-management challenges include minimising heat leaks between evaporator and compensation chamber, ensuring reliable start-up at low heat loads, tailoring wick permeability and capillary pressure, and integrating LHPs within constrained geometries. Advances in materials, wick fabrication and analytical modelling continue to enhance performance, while practical deployments underscore the global significance of LHPs in energy-efficient thermal regulation.
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Thermal Management of Loop Heat Pipes publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermal management of loop heat pipes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Loop heat pipe (LHP): A passive two-phase heat-transfer device using capillary forces in a porous wick to circulate working fluid between an evaporator and a condenser.
Wick: A porous medium within the evaporator that generates capillary pressure to drive fluid circulation without mechanical pumps.
Evaporator: The heat-absorbing component where liquid working fluid vapourises.
Compensation chamber: A reservoir that maintains liquid supply to the wick and accommodates fluid volume changes during operation.
Capillary forces: Surface-tension driven pressure differences within the wick pores that propel liquid flow.
Thermal resistance: A measure of a component’s opposition to heat flow, expressed in K/W.
References
- Advanced loop heat pipe application for cooling high power LED lights. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (2024).
- Submillimeter-thick loop heat pipes fabricated using two-layer copper sheets for cooling electronic applications. Applied Thermal Engineering (2020).
- Heat-Transfer Characteristics of a Cryogenic Loop Heat Pipe for Space Applications. Energies (2020).
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