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US 5,579,828 AGranted
Flexible insert for heat pipe freeze protection
AssigneeHudson Products Corporation
InventorsStuart E. Reed, Robert W. Tillman, Harold W. Wahle
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AssigneeHudson Products Corporation
InventorsStuart E. Reed, Robert W. Tillman, Harold W. Wahle
Estimating the term…
A flexible, pressurized insert for insertion within the hot (evaporator) side of an inclined heat pipe that forms a part of a heat pipe heat exchanger. This insert is employed in order to prevent such heat pipe from rupturing in the event the working fluid contained therein freezes. This insert is constructed of a thin-walled flexible material that is capable of being deformed (i.e. compressed) thereby absorbing the expansion pressures exerted by the working fluid should the working fluid freeze or be exposed to freezing temperatures. By such absorption, the outer heat pipe itself will not be over-pressurized which might otherwise lead to its rupture. Upon the thawing of the working fluid, the pressurized insert (which is at a pressure greater than that of the working fluid in its non-frozen state) will once again regain its shape.
An insert for freeze protecting an elongated pipe containing a working fluid therein comprising an elongated, sealed, thin-walled, flexible insert extending within the working fluid of the pipe and containing a liquid/gas mixture therein, said insert having an internal pressure greater than that of the working fluid in its non-frozen state, said insert being compressed upon the freezing of the working fluid thereby accommodating such expansion of the working fluid within the confines of the pipe without over-pressurizing the pipe, said insert expanding in volume when the freezing forces generated by the working fluid recede.
A freeze protected heat pipe comprising:
A freeze protected heat pipe heat exchanger comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.