Heat pipe thermal expansion modification

Abstract

A heat pipe includes: an elongate tube defining a longitudinal axis; an annular wick positioned in the elongate tube; a wick plug positioned in the elongate tube and attached to an end of the annular wick, where the wick plug includes an annular body defining an opening; a thermal expansion modification device including: an annular plug attached to an end of the elongate tube; and an elongate stem extending from the annular plug and through the opening in the wick plug, where the elongate stem defines a protrusion extending radially relative to the longitudinal axis toward the elongate tube, and where the wick plug is positioned intermediate the protrusion and the annular plug; and an end cap attached to the annular plug.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.