Research, development and industrial application of heat pipe technology in China

This paper introduces some typical cases of industrial applications, which include the equipment for the waste heat recovery and the industrial process equipment. Carbon steel–water heat pipe technology, applied to air preheater and waste heat boiler, has been successfully used in many fields, such as waste heat recovery, energy conservation and environmental protection. Liquid metal high-temperature heat pipe technology has been extensively employed in the process equipment, for example, high-temperature hot air generators and heat extractors. Heat pipe technology also finds its use in chemical reactors including ammonia converters. The success of applications is founded on the basis of fundamental research of heat pipe technology, which includes the theoretical and experimental researches on the vapor–liquid two-phase flow and heat transfer inside the heat pipe, the heat transfer limits of heat pipes, the heat transfer enhancement with heat pipes, and researches on the material compatibility and life tests of heat pipes. Hi-efficient heat pipe heat and mass transfer equipment is going to play a more and more important role in the various industrial fields.