Heat pipe with a bubble trap
AssigneeERNO Raumfahrttechnik GmbH
InventorReinhard Schlitt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heat pipe is equipped with a bubble trap. Such bubble trap takes the form of a baffle that restricts the liquid flow in the liquid flow channel of the heat pipe to divide the two-phase flow in the liquid channel into a liquid flow and into a bubble and liquid flow. A cage of wire mesh is positioned downstream of the baffle to entrap the bubbles. In another embodiment the bubble trapping cage is a chamber that extends all the way into the evaporating end of the pipe while the baffle is arranged upstream of such a chamber which is additionally connected through perforations to the liquid flow channels.
Claims12
A heat pipe structure comprising a heat pipe having at least one liquid flow channel for liquid evaporant and at least one vapor flow channel for vaporized evaporant, said liquid flow channel having a liquid flow cross-section, a bubble trap arranged for collecting gas and/or vapor bubbles from said liquid flow channel of said heat pipe, said bubble trap comprising at least one baffle member (4) positioned in at least one location in said liquid flow channel, said baffle member (4) blocking a portion of said liquid flow cross-section, and at least one bubble trapping element arranged in said liquid flow channel downstream of said baffle member as viewed in the flow direction, said bubble trapping element being permeable to liquid and impermeable to gas bubbles, said baffle member (4) guiding bubbles into said bubble trapping element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.