Polymeric heat pipe wick
First Claim
1. A wick for inclusion in a capillary loop including a first surface means for contacting a working fluid in a liquid state in said loop, said working fluid being selected from the group consisting of anhydrous ammonia and the fluorinated hydrocarbons, and a second surface means for evaporation of said liquid in said loop, said wick being comprised of a polymer which is essentially uniformly porous and permeable and which has an average molecular weight in the range of about one million to five million with a small average pore size, said polymer being chemically and physically compatible with said working fluid.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A wick for use in a capillary loop pump heat pipe. The wick material is an essentially uniformly porous, permeable, open-cell, polyethylene thermoplastic foam having an ultra high average molecular weight of from approximately 1,000,000 to 5,000,000, and an average pore size of about 10 to 12 microns. A representative material having these characteristics is POREX UF which has an average molecular weight of about 3,000,000. This material is fully compatible with the FREONs and anhydrous ammonia and allows for the use of these very efficient working fluids in capillary loops.
124 Citations
17 Claims
- 1. A wick for inclusion in a capillary loop including a first surface means for contacting a working fluid in a liquid state in said loop, said working fluid being selected from the group consisting of anhydrous ammonia and the fluorinated hydrocarbons, and a second surface means for evaporation of said liquid in said loop, said wick being comprised of a polymer which is essentially uniformly porous and permeable and which has an average molecular weight in the range of about one million to five million with a small average pore size, said polymer being chemically and physically compatible with said working fluid.
- 7. A capillary loop including a heat pipe in the form of a continuous loop, a wick positioned within less than the entire portion of said heat pipe comprised of an essentially uniformly porous, permeable and ultra high average molecular weight polymer with a small average pore size, said loop further including a working fluid contained within said heat pipe, said working fluid being selected from the group consisting of anhydrous ammonia and the fluorinated hydrocarbons, said polymer being chemically and physically compatible with said working fluid.
- 14. A wick for inclusion in a capillary loop including a first surface means for contacting a working fluid in a liquid state in said loop and a second surface means for evaporation of said liquid in said loop, said wick being comprised of a porous, permeable and ultra high average molecular weight, open-cell, polyethylene foam.
Specification