Heat Pipe and Thermosyphon: A Review of Performance and Applications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52262/gv29ys59Keywords:
Thermosyphon; Heat pipe; Phase change Flow;Abstract
A technology has developed rapidly in the recent industrial revolution, and many engineering disciplines have witnessed an emerging trend of efficient, reliable, and energy-saving thermal management systems. Therefore, it is no wonder that heat pipe technologies, including thermosyphon-based systems, have gained more popularity as passive thermal management technologies that can be easily designed and utilized. The purpose of this review paper is to present an overview of the different approaches to enhance the thermal performance of heat pipes and thermosyphon, present the operational limitations of the aforementioned technologies, and examine the behaviour of two-phase systems as discussed in the literature. Additionally, the impact of critical parameters, including the selection of geometry, filling ratio, working fluids and operating orientation, is emphasized as discussed in the literature. There is a lot of emphasis placed on thermosyphon applications in different disciplines of engineering, which is an indication of the importance of thermosyphon technologies in the real world. Therefore, based on the findings of the review, the current research aims to examine the loop thermosyphon system theoretically and experimentally, with emphasis on enhancing the condenser section of the thermosyphon system.
References
Viveks Kumar, “ViveksThesis,” Sep. 2023, doi: 10.7939/r3-zntw-mn29.
M. Soliman, M. Shedid, H. A. El-Hameed, and H. Abou-Ziyan, “Effect of the State-of-the-Art Condenser Configuration on the Performance of Axially Rotating Wickless Heat Pipes,” J Therm Sci Eng Appl, vol. 16, no. 9, Sep. 2024, doi: 10.1115/1.4065565.
L. Perego Mendes et al., “Evaluation of Copper Diffusion Bonding Parameters Applied to the Manufacture of Flat Heat Pipes,” Materials Research, vol. 28, 2025, doi: 10.1590/1980-5373-MR-2025-0065.
A. Obaid and W. S. Sarsam, “Parametric Study of a Two-Phase Closed Thermosyphon Loop,” Journal of Engineering, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 92–118, May 2022, doi: 10.31026/j.eng.2022.05.06.
D. Gamboa and B. Herrera, “Influence of Turbulence, Density, Phase Change, and Phase Interfaces Models on the Performance of the Numerical Simulation of a Two-Phase Closed Thermosyphon,” TecnoLógicas, vol. 23, no. 49, pp. 53–70, Sep. 2020, doi: 10.22430/22565337.1563.
R. Zhang and Z. Zhou, “Research and optimization of heat transfer characteristics of heat pipe-coupled phase change energy storage system,” in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Institute of Physics, 2024. doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/2838/1/012032.
F. Celik and I. C. Bang, “Numerical Investigation of Filling Ratio Effects on Heat Pipe Performance: Modified Conduction Model.”
A. A. Bhatt, R. N. Patel, S. V. Jain, and D. V. Vaghela, “Experimental investigations on novel orientation study on axially grooved heat pipe with two evaporators and one condenser with multiple branches,” Heat and Mass Transfer/Waerme- und Stoffuebertragung, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 377–393, Feb. 2024, doi: 10.1007/s00231-023-03441-0.
W. Zhou et al., “An Experimental Study of a Composite Wick Structure for Ultra-Thin Flattened Heat Pipes,” Micromachines (Basel), vol. 15, no. 6, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.3390/mi15060764.
S. Saadatian and H. Wong, “An analytic linear relation between the imposed heat flux and the pipe-end temperature for flat heat pipes with porous wicks,” Int J Heat Mass Transf, vol. 245, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2025.126950.
Z. A. Faisal, A. A. Eidan, and A. Al-Manea, “Review of the effectiveness of heat pipe heat exchangers for waste heat recovery in HVAC systems,” Sep. 30, 2025, Institute of Physics. doi: 10.1088/2631-8695/ae05e7.
N. A. Moayad and W. S. Sarsam, “Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of an Acetone-Filled Pulsating Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger for Waste Heat Recovery,” Journal of Engineering, vol. 31, no. 9, pp. 191–207, Sep. 2025, doi: 10.31026/j.eng.2025.09.12.
M. A. Yassin, H. M. Abd El-Hameed, M. H. Shedid, and H. Abou-Ziyan, “Effect of Operating Parameters on the Performance of Axially Rotating Horizontal Heat Pipe: Experimental Investigation,” Engineering Research Journal, vol. 182, no. 2, pp. 257–287, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.21608/erj.2024.358706.
Y. Xiang et al., “Study on Heat and Mass Transfer Performance of Ultra-Thin Micro-Heat Pipes,” Energies (Basel), vol. 17, no. 14, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.3390/en17143426.
M. Malcho, J. Jandačka, R. Lenhard, K. Kaduchová, and P. Nemec, “Applications of Heat Pipes in Thermal Management,” Energies (Basel), vol. 18, no. 19, p. 5282, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.3390/en18195282.
J. K. Abdali and A. A. Alwan, “Theoretical Model to Investigate the Heat Transfer Mechanism through a Heat Pipe with Graphene Oxide/Distilled Water as Working Fluid,” in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, IOP Publishing Ltd, Nov. 2020. doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/987/1/012017.
P. Bhadra* and B. Ch. Nookaraju, “Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Composite Wick Heat Pipes using Ethanol,” International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 2360–2363, Jan. 2020, doi: 10.35940/ijitee.C8882.019320.
D. K. Jain and A. V Deshpande, “Mathematical Modelling and Optimization of Cylindrical Heat Pipe.”
J. KADHIM Abdali, A. Abbas Alwan, and R. H. Hameed, “Heat Pipe and Applications-Recent Advances and Review,” May 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344442623
S. U. Khalid, H. Babar, H. M. Ali, M. M. Janjua, and M. A. Ali, “Heat pipes: progress in thermal performance enhancement for microelectronics,” J Therm Anal Calorim, vol. 143, no. 3, pp. 2227–2243, Feb. 2021, doi: 10.1007/s10973-020-09820-7.
Y. Feng, X. Wu, C. Liang, and Z. Sun, “A Convenient Method for the Accurate Calculation of Fin Efficiency of H-Type Fins Based on Linear Nomograms and Fitting Formulae,” Energies (Basel), vol. 15, no. 2, Jan. 2022, doi: 10.3390/en15020456.
E. A. Hummood and M. Hasan, “Enhancing the performance of earth to air heat exchanger using annular and perforated fins ; numerical and experimental study,” Feb. 16, 2024. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3943996/v1.
M. A. Yassin, H. M. Abd El-Hameed, M. H. Shedid, and H. Abou-Ziyan, “Enhancing the Experimental Performance of Axially Rotating Wickless Heat Pipe Using Annular-and Longitudinally Finned Condensers,” J Therm Sci Eng Appl, vol. 16, no. 11, Nov. 2024, doi: 10.1115/1.4066261.
J. Singh et al., “Numerical Analysis of Laminar Flow and Heat Transfer in Micro Pin Fin Heat Sinks with Varying Fin Geometries: Effect of Fin Geometry on Micro Pin Fin Heat Sinks,” Aug. 08, 2025. doi: 10.20944/preprints202508.0610.v1.
P. Srinivas Kishore, K. V Siva Kumar, and P. S. Kishore, “Estimation of Heat Transfer with Helical Fins at Annulus in a Double Pipe Heat Exchanger,” International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 2023, [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374118253
R. Saeidi, Y. Noorollahi, S. Chang, and H. Yousefi, “A comprehensive study of Fin-Assisted horizontal ground heat exchanger for enhancing the heat transfer performance,” Energy Conversion and Management: X, vol. 18, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ecmx.2023.100359.
Y. M. Seo, H. Y. Choi, R. K. Ko, S. Kim, and Y. G. Park, “Artificial Neural Network Modeling on Heat Transfer Performance of Finned Heat Pipe,” May 22, 2024. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4361511/v1.
D. Brough, J. Ramos, B. Delpech, and H. Jouhara, “Development and validation of a TRNSYS type to simulate heat pipe heat exchangers in transient applications of waste heat recovery,” International Journal of Thermofluids, vol. 9, Feb. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ijft.2020.100056.
Al-Amin, R. I. Reja, Md. A. A. Sumon, S. Alam, and M. Z. Abedin, “Performance Analysis of Annular Fins in Cylindrical Pipes: A Study on Heat Transfer and Fin Efficiency under Various Convection Modes,” SciEn Conference Series: Engineering, vol. 3, pp. 281–285, Nov. 2025, doi: 10.38032/scse.2025.3.79.
M. Ahmed, I. Rofaiel, and M. Essa, “Experimental study for the performance of an integrated solar collector water heater based on helical fins heat pipes using phase changing material,” The Egyptian International Journal of Engineering Sciences and Technology, vol. 30, no. Mechanical Engineering, pp. 22–38, Aug. 2020, doi: 10.21608/eijest.2020.104931.
S. Tawsif Islam, “Closed Loop Thermosyphon,” 2023, doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28037.01762.
Z. Tan, X. Li, J. Zhou, and X. Huai, “Experimental study on a loop thermosyphon with microencapsulated phase change material suspension,” in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Institute of Physics, 2024. doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/2707/1/012158.
N. Ritthong, S. Thongkom, A. Sawisit, B. Duangsa, and W. Ritthong, “Optimization Design of Closed-Loop Thermosyphons: Experimentation and Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling,” Energies (Basel), vol. 17, no. 2, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.3390/en17020527.
R. Caruana and M. Guilizzoni, “Modeling of Conventional Heat Pipes with Capillary Wicks: A Review,” May 01, 2025, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI). doi: 10.3390/en18092213.
U. Singh and N. Kumar Gupta, “Operational Limitations of Heat Pipes with MgO-Water Nanofluid: An Experimental Investigation,” IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng, vol. 1116, no. 1, p. 012054, Apr. 2021, doi: 10.1088/1757-899x/1116/1/012054.
D. M. Weragoda, G. Tian, A. Burkitbayev, K. H. Lo, and T. Zhang, “A comprehensive review on heat pipe based battery thermal management systems,” Apr. 01, 2023, Elsevier Ltd. doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120070.
I. N. Jang and Y. S. Ahn, “Sintered Wick Heat Pipes with Excellent Heat Transfer Capabilities—Case Study,” Energies (Basel), vol. 17, no. 5, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.3390/en17051113.
A. A. A. Aljuboori, S. Y. Ahmed, and M. Y. Jabbar, “Experimental study of closed-loop thermosyphon with a different evaporator geometry,” Heat Transfer, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 466–486, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.1002/htj.21887.
A. A. Abdulaziz, “Characteristics of Heat Transfer in Closed Loop Thermosyphon with Different Evaporator Geometry.”
A. Rukruang, H. Y. Lin, J. Kaew-On, and C. C. Wang, “Experimental investigation on thermal performance of multiport minichannel flattened tube thermosyphon heat exchanger,” Appl Therm Eng, vol. 257, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.124385.
jihad .Kadhim .AbdAli .Abdullah and Adil Abbas Alwan Al-Moosawy, “Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Transient heat pipe,” 2021.
C. Chen et al., “Characterisation of a controllable loop thermosyphon for precise temperature management,” Appl Therm Eng, vol. 185, Feb. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116444.
A. Obaid and W. S. Sarsam, “Investigation of Thermal Performance of a Two-Phase Thermosyphon System Using Different Working Fluids,” 2021.
C. N. Huang, K. L. Lee, C. Tarau, Y. Kamotani, and C. R. Kharangate, “Computational fluid dynamics model for a variable conductance thermosyphon,” Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 25, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.100960.
H. Zhang, H. Xu, and C. Tian, “Startup influencing factor investigation and quantitative interaction analysis on a loop thermosyphon with multiple evaporators,” Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 28, Dec. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.101460.
H. Zhang, F. Ye, H. Guo, and X. Yan, “Isothermal Performance of Heat Pipes: A Review,” Mar. 01, 2022, MDPI. doi: 10.3390/en15061992.
H. Yao et al., “Characteristics of phase-change flow and heat transfer in loop thermosyphon: Three-dimension CFD modeling and experimentation,” Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 35, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2022.102070.
T. Z. Farge, S. J. Ismael, and R. M.Thyab, “Experimental Investigation of Thermosyphon Thermal Performance Using Different Filling Ratio,” Engineering and Technology Journal, vol. 39, no. 1A, pp. 34–44, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.30684/etj.v39i1a.1639.
Z. Wang, F. Li, and M. Cha, “EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF FLOW CHARACTERISTICS IN A VERTICAL VIBRATION TWO-PHASE LOOP THERMOSYPHON,” Thermal Science, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 4367–4376, 2022, doi: 10.2298/TSCI211023014W.
Z. Liu, Y. Cai, J. Lu, Y. Li, D. Tang, and C. Hu, “The thermal performance of bellows tube as a condenser in two-phase loop thermosyphon within a wide range of filling ratios,” International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 169, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2025.109566.
Z. Lataoui, A. M. Benselama, and A. Jemni, “Heat Transfer Characteristics of Thermosyphons Used in Vacuum Water Heaters,” Fluids, vol. 10, no. 8, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.3390/fluids10080199.
G. Czerwiński and J. Wołoszyn, “Numerical study of a cooling system using phase change of a refrigerant in a thermosyphon,” Energies (Basel), vol. 14, no. 12, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.3390/en14123634.
V. Vaurek Dimbarre, F. Mercês Biglia, L. E. M. Lima, P. H. DIAS DOS SANTOS, and T. Antonini Alves, “Numerical analysis of the turbulent flow of the cooling jacket applied in a stainless steel thermosyphon,” Associacao Brasileira de Engenharia e Ciencias Mecanicas - ABCM, Oct. 2022. doi: 10.26678/abcm.eptt2022.ept22-0022.
K. S. Remella and F. M. Gerner, “Separated Liquid–Vapor Flow Analysis in a Mini-Channel with Mesh Walls in the Closed-Loop Two-Phase Wicked Thermosyphon (CLTPWT),” Energies (Basel), vol. 16, no. 13, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.3390/en16135045.
L. Serconek Fuso, L. H. R. Cisterna, and M. B. H. Mantelli, “Experimental study of two phase loop thermosyphons for hybrid solar systems,” Energy Convers Manag, vol. 293, Oct. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2023.117550.
J. Caner, E. Videcoq, A. M. Benselama, and M. Girault, “Simulation of a two-phase loop thermosyphon using a new interface-resolved phase change model,” Int J Heat Mass Transf, vol. 228, Aug. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2024.125607.
Q. T. Le and B. J. Kim, “CFD Simulation of Loop Thermosiphon Using the Wall Boiling and Condensation Models,” in Proceedings of the World Congress on Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer, Avestia Publishing, 2025. doi: 10.11159/icmfht25.105.
F. Jiang, N. Qian, J. Chen, M. Bernagozzi, M. Marengo, and Y. Fu, “3D asymmetric loop thermosyphon under radial rotation: A novel method for enhanced heat transfer in grinding,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 219, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2025.110219.
T. Nguyen Ken, M. Alice Lindquist, and E. Merzari Ken, “On the Impact of Aspect Ratio and Other Geometric Effects on the Stability of Rectangular Thermosiphons.”
B. A. ZAHRAA ABBAS FAISAL Supervised by Adel Eidan, “ENHANCING THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF HEAT PIPE HEAT EXCHANGER USING DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES NUMERICALLY AND EXPERIMENTALLY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES OF POWER IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR PH.D. DEGREE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING-THERMAL,” 2025.
J. C. Jang, T. K. Lim, J. S. Lee, and S. H. Rhi, “Li-Ion Battery Cooling and Heating System with Loop Thermosyphon for Electric Vehicles,” Energies (Basel), vol. 18, no. 14, Jul. 2025, doi: 10.3390/en18143687.
M. M. Soliman, M. H. Shedid, H. M. Abd El-Hameed, and H. Abou-Ziyan, “EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF CONDENSER CONFIGURATION ON A HORIZONTALLY ROTATING WICKLESS HEAT PIPE PERFORMANCE,” 2025. [Online]. Available: www.begellhouse.com
M. Polačiková, P. Nemec, M. Malcho, and J. Jandačka, “Experimental Investigations of a Passive Cooling System Based on the Gravity Loop Heat Pipe Principle for an Electrical Cabinet,” Applied Sciences (Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 3, Feb. 2022, doi: 10.3390/app12031634.
M. A. Hussain et al., “THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF SINTERED COPPER WICK HEAT PIPE USING WATER-BASED HYBRID NANOFLUIDS: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY,” 2022. [Online]. Available: www.begellhouse.com
F. N. Al-Mousawi, N. S. Dhaidan, A. A. Mohammed, A. A. Alammar, and R. Z. Homod, “Investigation of the performance of a heat pipe using various configurations and innovation designs: a review,” J Therm Anal Calorim, 2025, doi: 10.1007/s10973-025-14711-w.
R. S. Anand, C. P. Jawahar, A. Brusly Solomon, S. David, E. Bellos, and Z. Said, “Experimental investigations on modified thermosyphons using R134a/Al2O3 and comparative machine learning analysis,” Appl Therm Eng, vol. 212, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2022.118554.
V. K. Mishra, S. K. Panda, B. Sen, and D. Samantaray, “An Experimental Investigation on Heat Transfer Performance of a Thermosyphon With External Fins,” Heat Transfer, 2025, doi: 10.1002/htj.70093.
S. Y. Zakaria, A. G. Ibrahim, A. M. Rashad, and S. E. El-Shamarka, “Experimental investigation and numerical simulation of the thermosyphon heat pipe charged with R134a,” in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, IOP Publishing Ltd, Nov. 2020. doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/973/1/012039.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Al-Furat Journal of Innovations in Mechanical and Sustainable Energy Engineering
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
