Abstract:
A heat transfer device, comprising a wick disposed within the enclosed chamber for transporting the working fluid m a liquid state via capillary action from a cold section towards a hot section, the wick comprising a metallic open cell porous structure having been made by a process including (i) providing a dry flowable powder mixture including (a) between 50 wt % and 80 wt % metal particles having a first melting temperature, (b) between 20 wt % and 50% wt binding agent having a decomposition temperature, the decomposition temperature being lower than the first melting temperature; (ii) heating the mixture to a temperature lower than the decomposition temperature at least to cure the binding agent to obtain a solid structure, (iii) heating the solid structure to at least the decomposition temperature to cleanly decompose the binding agent and obtain an non-sintered open cell porous structure, and (iv) heating the non-sintered open cell porous body to a temperature lower than the first melting temperature to sinter the metal particles and obtain a metallic open cell porous body formable into the metallic open cell porous structure of the wick.
Abstract:
A heat pipe having an enclosed chamber with a hot side and a cold side and an inorganic porous structure between the hot side and the cold side. The inorganic porous structure transports working liquid by capillary action from the cold side toward the hot side and having a wicking speed in excess of about 0.005m/s.
Abstract:
The porous material of the present invention is produced toy heating a dry powder mixture, containing mainly an organic solid hinder and inorgnnic particles and containing no foaming agent. The mixture is heated to melt the organic binder. The resulting solid structure comprising inorganic particles embedded in an organic binder is then heated to eliminate the organic binder, and finally healed again Io melallurgically bond the remaining inorganic tri-dimensional network into a rigid structure having interconnected pυrosiiy.