Osmotic pumped heat pipe valve
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsCharles P. Minning, George L. Fleischman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A bubble (32) of non-condensable gas between a solvent permeable membrane (18) and solvent within a solvent reservoir (16) limits the amount of surface area of the membrane wettable by the solvent and thereby limits the amount of solvent capable of passing through the membrane into the solution reservoir (12).
Claims14
In an osmotic pumped heat pipe having reservoirs with solvent and solution therein and solvent permeable membrane material between said reservoirs, the improvement for controlling the rate of osmotic pumping through said membrane material comprising means for limiting the surface area of said membrane material contactable by said solvent.
A method for controlling the rate of osmotic pumping of solvent from a solvent reservoir to a solution reservoir across a solvent permeable membrane separating the reservoirs, comprising the step of limiting the amount of surface area of the membrane capable of being wetted by the solvent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.