US 12,339,068 B1 · Heat pipe wick formation

Abstract

A method for forming an annular heat pipe wick in a controlled atmosphere includes wrapping a plurality of layers of a fine mesh screen around a mandrel to form a wick. The method also includes inserting the mandrel and the wick into a sheath, and compressing the wick between the sheath and the mandrel to form an assembly. The compressing of the wick comprises applying pressure to an exterior of the mandrel and the sheath. The method further includes diffusion bonding the assembly at a temperature sufficiently high achieving self-diffusion of the plurality of layers of the fine mesh screen used to form the wick to themselves. The method also includes cooling the diffusion bonded assembly to room temperature, and etching the mandrel and sheath from the diffusion bonded assembly, leaving the wick as a porous tube.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method for forming a porous lined heat pipe, the method comprising:

inserting a wick assembly into an interior of a heat pipe tube, wherein the interior is defined by an internal diameter of the heat pipe tube and wherein the wick assembly comprises a plurality of fine mesh screen layers wrapped around a mandrel;
compressing the plurality of fine mesh screen layers of the wick assembly between the mandrel and the internal diameter of the heat pipe tube;
diffusion bonding the plurality of fine mesh screen layers such that the fine mesh screen layers achieve self-diffusion and an exterior surface of the wick assembly is bonded to the interior of the heat pipe tube, thereby forming a diffusion bonded assembly;
etching the mandrel from the diffusion bonded assembly, thereby forming the porous lined heat pipe;
and
inserting a porous wick tube into an internal cavity of the porous lined heat pipe, thereby forming an artery heat pipe wick.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Heat pipe wick formation

Life of this patent

Heat pipe wick formation

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims19