Thermal - Heat Pipes, Vapor Chambers are devices designed to transfer heat between two interfaces. These interfaces include a liquid that transforms into vapor by heating on the hot interface and traveling to the cold interface to change back into a liquid. The low internal pressure of the chamber triggers the fluid to vaporize at a lower temperature than the average boiling temperature. When heated, the liquid near the hot spot immediately vaporizes and gradually fills the chamber’s entire volume, driven by the pressure difference. When the vapors come into contact with the cold walls, they condense.
Design and Configurations of Thermal - Heat Pipes, Vapor Chambers
The available shapes include:
- Flat
- Round
- Rectangular, and
- Square.
The types include sintered and grooved wick types. Furthermore, they are made of aluminium and copper, with a working fluid of distilled water.
What is a Vapor Chamber?
Vapor chambers are planar heat pipes ideal for distributing heat in two directions. They are typically used when high power and heat flux is applied to a small evaporator area. During operation, heat entering the evaporator vaporizes the liquid in the evaporator wick.
Why are They Important?
These components are of great importance due to their high thermal conductivity. Their hollow structure makes them easy to handle during operation, making them ideal for thermal management solutions.
The Difference Between Heat Pipes and Vapor Chambers
These two-phase devices are both ideal for thermal management solutions. However, a heat pipe features high thermal conductance and is capable of transporting a high amount of heat with a minimum temperature difference between its cold and hot ends. In contrast, a vapor chamber comprises flat head pipes with high thermal conductance due to their flat surfaces over the top and bottom sides.
Applications of Thermal - Heat Pipes, Vapor Chambers
Thermal heat pipes and vapor chambers are widely used for various applications. Technically, hot water pipes are generally used for applications where the power density is less than 25 W/cm2, while a vapor chamber is used when the density reaches 50 W/cm2.
Vapor chambers are ideal for heatsink requirements, while heat pipes are used in cooling applications in various fields, including:
- Space
- Medical equipment
- Power electronics cooling
- CPU cooling
- Smartphones
- Tablets.
