Operating temperature and distribution of a working fluid in LHP

One of the main factors that influence the operating temperature of a loop heat pipe (LHP) is the distribution of a working fluid in the device. The paper presents the classification of LHP operating modes on the basis of the criterion of presence or absence of the working-fluid vapor phase in the compensation chamber (CC). It gives a description of method of calculating the LHP operating temperature for every operating mode and shows the characteristic features, advantages and disadvantages of every mode.