They can transport a large heat load over a long distance with a small temperature difference.
This limitation on the part of heat pipes is mainly related to the major pressure losses associated with the liquid flow through the porous structure, present along the entire length of the heat pipe, and viscous interaction between the vapor and liquid phases, also called entrainment losses.
For the same reason conventional heat pipes are very sensitive to the change in orientation in gravitational field.
As a result of these limitations, different solutions involving structural modifications to the conventional heat pipe have been proposed.
To extend the functional possibilities of two-phase systems to applications involving otherwise inoperable slopes in gravity, the advantages provided by the spatial separation of the transportation line and the usage of non-capillary arteries are combined in a loop scheme.
[citation needed] Loop heat pipes are important parts of systems for cooling electronic components.