Experimental Investigation of Revolving Heat Pipes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Heat Pumping

This paper presents a novel system which utilises revolving heat pipes to improve the heat transfer effectiveness to and from thermoelectric modules. The revolving heat pipes have the dual function of both heat exchanger and air impeller, eliminating the need for a separate fan. This system characteristic has potential benefits in terms of reduced component parts, reduced fan loads and lower maintenance due to less accumulation of dirt on the heat exchanger surfaces. Compared to stationary heat pipe heat recovery system, revolving heat pipes have the advantage of enhanced heat transfer capacity both internally within the heat pipe and externally with the air to provide both heating and cooling. A prototype system was designed to provide 1.0 kW of heating capacity. Experimental measurements show that a COP of 0.86 and 1.90 for cooling and heating respectively can be achieved for a supply air flow of up to 105 m3/hr.