Heat pipes integrated into a 3-D printed part
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
InventorsMitchell Sanders, Gregory Minkiewicz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air cooled machine is formed with a housing and a plurality of heat rejecting fins with a heat pipe system disposed therein. The heat pipe system includes a primary passageway and a plurality of leg passageways extending through the housing and into each fin. A working fluid is disposed within the heat pipe system and is operable to receive heat from a heat source, change material phase at a threshold temperature and transfer the heat through the fins to a surrounding atmosphere.
Claims19
An air cooled machine comprising:
- a housing;
- a heat source positioned within the housing;
- a plurality of heat rejecting fins projecting outward from the housing;
- a heat pipe system having a primary passageway and a plurality of legs extending therefrom;
- a working fluid disposed within the heat pipe system;
- wherein the working fluid transfers heat from the primary passageway to the legs of the heat pipe system;
- and
- wherein the working fluid receives heat from the housing and rejects the heat through the fins to a surrounding atmosphere.
An internal combustion engine comprising:
- a housing having a cylinder and a piston operable therein;
- a plurality of cooling fins projecting away from the housing;
- and
- a primary working fluid passageway formed in the housing having a leg that extends into at least one of the plurality of cooling fins.
A method comprising:
- generating heat in a machine;
- transferring heat to a working fluid in a passageway formed in the machine;
- changing a phase of the working fluid at a threshold operating temperature;
- moving heat via flow of the working fluid from a primary passageway formed in a cylinder head into a leg passageway formed in a fin extending from the machine;
- and
- transferring heat from the fin directly to a surrounding atmosphere.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.