September 7, 2013

Heat Sinks Manufacturers, Getec Industrials, Describe the Mechanics of a Heat Pipe

In most cases, people don’t know what a heat pipe is. To make it simple, heat sinks manufacturers, Getec Industrial, shares this information. A heat pipe is a vessel that has been charged with working fluid and vacuumed. A wick structure is what the walls of a heat pipe are lined with. The purpose of the wick structure is to allow the flow of water from one end of the heat pipe to the other, and the wick structure transports water with capillary action.

When heat is added to the evaporator end of the heat pipe, it causes the working fluid to change from a liquid substance into vapor. Once the working liquid is turned into vapor, it travels to the other end of the heat pipe through the center. At the end of the pipe that is opposite of the evaporator, there is a heatsink, which removes heat.

After heat has been removed from the vapor, the vapor changes back into working liquid, which allows the wick structure to absorb it again. The level of performance that a heat pipe can offer is dependent on different variables like orientation, flattening, bending, and wick structure. There are four main wick structures that are produced for commercial purposes, and they are fiber, powder metal, wire mesh and grooved.

Each type of wick has a specific capillary limit, which is basically the speed that the wick can transport the working liquid from the evaporator to the condenser. The performance of a heat pipe is determined by how fast the working liquid can be sent from the evaporator to the condenser.

The specific orientation of a heat pipe also determines the heat pipe’s efficiency. Put simply, the wick structure is what affects a heat pipe’s orientation, and since each pipe has a different wick structure, certain pipes work better in specific conditions.

The type of working fluid inside of it also influences a heat pipe’s performance. A heat pipe will not work when it has a temperature that is below freezing or above the working fluid’s point of condensation. If a heat pipe’s temperature is above the working fluid’s condensation point, then there is no way for the working fluid to change back into liquid after being evaporated.

For a heat pipe to work, fluid circulation must always be possible. Bending and flattening of a heat pipe can decrease the total amount of heat that the pipe can transport. When industries need thermal management solutions, a heat pipe heatsinkmanufacturing company provides the needed machinery to produce a custom or standard product.