Heat pipe structure and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

A heat pipe structure and its manufacturing method are disclosed. The heat pipe structure comprises: a copper pipe having a cooling end and a heat source end; an air passage located inside the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; a mesh capillary structure surrounding the inside of the copper pipe and located between the air passage and the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; and a heat transfer medium injected into the air passage; wherein the ratio of the diameter of the air passage to the diameter of the copper pipe is between 1:2 and 3:5.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to a heat pipe structure and its manufacturing method, and more particularly to a heat pipe structure and its manufacturing method suitable for heat dissipation of microelectronic components. Prior Technology

[0002] Currently, with the advancement of technology, the precision and accuracy of various devices are gradually improving. These technological advancements not only enhance industrial efficiency but also continuously drive technological innovation in fields such as medicine, engineering, and research.

[0003] However, precision components typically generate a significant amount of heat during operation. Excessive temperatures can lead to performance degradation, shortened lifespan, or malfunctions, consequently reducing or eliminating the operational efficiency of the device. Analysis of the internal structure of precision equipment reveals that heat generation is not uniform; rather, due to the location of the precision components, a large amount of heat is absorbed in minute areas. Therefore, heat pipe technology, capable of precise localized heat dissipation, becomes even more crucial.

[0004] However, existing heat pipe technologies often cannot simultaneously achieve both flexible shapes and rapid heat dissipation efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a heat pipe structure and its fabrication method to solve the aforementioned technical problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the problems of the prior art, the purpose of this application is to provide a heat pipe structure and its manufacturing method, which can effectively dissipate heat locally from precision components.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a heat pipe structure comprising: a copper pipe having a cooling end and a heat source end; an air passage located inside the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; a mesh capillary structure surrounding the inside of the copper pipe and located between the air passage and the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; and a heat transfer medium injected into the air passage; wherein the ratio of the diameter of the air passage to the diameter of the copper pipe is between 1:2 and 3:5.

[0007] In some embodiments of this application, the cooling end of the copper tube has a cooling seal.

[0008] In some embodiments of this application, the cooling end includes a sintered partial mesh capillary structure near the cooling end and a sintered copper tube near the cooling end.

[0009] In some embodiments of this application, the mesh capillary structure is a double-layer structure.

[0010] In some embodiments of this application, the copper tube has a diameter of 1 micrometer, the thickness of the mesh capillary structure is between 0.07 micrometers and 0.09 micrometers, and the wall thickness of the copper tube is between 0.13 micrometers and 0.15 micrometers.

[0011] In a second aspect of this application, a method for manufacturing a heat pipe structure is also provided, comprising at least the following steps: a material preparation step, comprising: providing a copper tube having a cooling end and a heat source end; and providing a mesh capillary structure surrounding the inner side of the copper tube, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; a mesh threading step, passing a stainless steel rod through the copper tube, causing the mesh capillary structure to abut against the inner surface of the copper tube; a sintering step, sintering the copper tube and the mesh capillary structure to bond the mesh capillary structure and the copper tube; a rod removal step, removing the stainless steel rod from the copper tube to form an air passage inside the copper tube; a heat transfer medium injection step, injecting a heat transfer medium into the air passage; and a vacuuming step, placing the inside of the copper tube under vacuum.

[0012] In some embodiments of this application, the stainless steel bar is further subjected to nitriding treatment before performing the mesh threading step.

[0013] In some embodiments of this application, the mesh capillary structure is a double-layer structure.

[0014] In some embodiments of this application, the cooling end of the copper tube has a cooling seal.

[0015] In some embodiments of this application, after performing the rod pulling step, a sealing step is also performed to form a cooling seal at the cooling end; and an empty tube weighing step is performed to weigh the next heat pipe semi-finished product after the cooling seal is formed, and to determine the injection amount of the heat transfer medium based on the weight of the heat pipe semi-finished product.

[0016] Compared to prior art, this application provides a heat pipe structure and its manufacturing method, wherein the heat pipe structure includes a copper pipe having a cooling end and a heat source end; an air passage located inside the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; a mesh capillary structure surrounding the inner side of the copper pipe and located between the air passage and the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; and a heat transfer medium injected into the air passage; wherein the diameter ratio of the air passage to the diameter of the copper pipe is between 1:2 and 3:5. By setting the mesh capillary structure to surround the inner side of the copper pipe and located between the air passage and the copper pipe wall, the air passage space inside the heat pipe is expanded, and the contact area between the heat transfer medium and the mesh capillary structure is increased, thereby improving the efficiency of condensation and evaporation of the heat transfer medium at the cooling end and the heat source end.

[0017] The following detailed description, through specific embodiments and accompanying drawings, will make it easier to understand the purpose, technical content, features, and effects achieved by this application. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0018] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a heat pipe in the prior art. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the heat dissipation process of a heat pipe structure according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a heat pipe structure according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for manufacturing a heat pipe structure according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the stainless steel rod insertion state of a heat pipe structure according to an embodiment of this application. Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that the specific implementation methods described herein are only for illustration and explanation of this application, and are not intended to limit this application.

[0020] Please refer to the attached drawings, in which the same or similar elements are indicated by the same element designation.

[0021] First, please refer to Figure 1, which shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a prior art heat pipe. Inside the copper pipe CP, the heat dissipation channel P is formed within the heat dissipation material TP, which occupies only a small portion of the cross-sectional area of ​​the copper pipe CP. Therefore, the small cross-sectional area of ​​the heat dissipation channel P limits the heat dissipation power of the prior art heat pipe itself, and the heat dissipation material TP cannot withstand bending and cannot adapt to the increasingly precise internal environment of equipment. This makes it difficult for the prior art heat pipe to accurately contact the heat source, and the limited cross-sectional area of ​​the heat dissipation channel P also limits the heat dissipation power of the heat pipe.

[0022] In contrast, in a first aspect, this application provides a heat pipe structure comprising: a copper pipe 10 having a cooling end L and a heat source end H; an air passage 30 located inside the copper pipe 10, extending from a side near the cooling end L to a side near the heat source end H; a mesh capillary structure 20 surrounding the inner side of the copper pipe 10 and located between the air passage 30 and the copper pipe 10, extending from a side near the cooling end L to a side near the heat source end H; and a heat transfer medium 40 injected into the air passage 30; wherein the diameter ratio of the air passage 30 to the diameter of the copper pipe 10 is between 1:2 and 3:5. When the heat pipe contacts or senses a heat source H1, the heat transfer medium 40 absorbs heat and rapidly changes phase to a gaseous state, absorbing the heat energy contacted or radiated by the heat pipe through the phase change of the heat transfer medium 40. Due to the pressure difference, the gaseous heat transfer medium 40 rapidly flows towards the cooling end L within the air passage 30. At this time, affected by the lower temperature of the cooling end L, the heat transfer medium 40 releases latent heat and changes phase again to liquid, which is equivalent to carrying the heat energy from the heat source end H to the cooling end L. Then, through the capillary action generated by the copper tube 10, air passage 30 and mesh capillary structure 20 of the present invention, it automatically and quickly flows back from the cooling end L to the heat source end H. This can be repeated without additional energy injection, achieving the effect of continuous and precise heat dissipation.

[0023] It is worth noting that this invention utilizes a mesh capillary structure 20 directly wrapped around the inner side of the copper tube 10. This not only increases the maximum diameter that the air passage 30 can expand to, but also ensures that the heat transfer medium 40, which has released heat energy, can immediately flow back to the heat source end H by using the mesh capillary structure 20 instead of other heat dissipation materials. Furthermore, by using a diameter ratio of the air passage 30 to the copper tube 10 between 1:2 and 3:5, the evaporation rate of the heat transfer medium 40 vapor carried from the heat source end H to the cooling end L within the heat pipe structure is sufficient to ensure the heat transfer efficiency of the heat pipe structure. Simultaneously, the diameter ratio of the air passage 30 to the copper tube 10 is less than 2:5, limiting the evaporation rate of the heat transfer medium 40 flowing back from the cooling end L to the heat source end H via capillary action during the return process. This allows the heat pipe structure provided by this invention to maintain the aforementioned heat dissipation power while ensuring effective heat dissipation for the higher-temperature heat source H1.

[0024] In some embodiments of this application, the cooling end L of the copper tube 10 has a cooling seal L1. When the gaseous heat transfer medium 40 in the air passage 30 is driven to the cooling end L, the cooling seal L1 covering the copper tube 10, the mesh capillary structure 20, and the air passage 30 can increase the condensation of the heat transfer medium 40 and promote the efficiency of heat dissipation of the heat pipe structure.

[0025] In some embodiments of this application, the cooling tail portion L1 includes a sintered portion of the mesh capillary structure 20 near the cooling end L and a sintered copper tube 10 near the cooling end L. By sealing the three together to form the cooling tail portion L1, the condensed heat transfer medium 40 can be instantly returned to the heat source end H. The method for forming the cooling tail portion L1 includes sintering.

[0026] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a heat pipe structure according to an embodiment of this application. In some embodiments of this application, the mesh capillary structure 20 is a double-layer structure. For example, the inner layer 21 of the mesh capillary structure 20 is woven from copper wire with a diameter of 0.03 mm, and the outer layer 22 of the mesh capillary structure is woven from copper wire with a diameter of 0.04 mm. Through the double-layer mesh capillary structure 20 provided by this invention, heat transfer media 40 in different condensation states can flow back within the mesh capillary structure 20 at different rates, which not only promotes the flow rate but also significantly reduces the evaporation of heat transfer media 40 near the periphery of the mesh capillary structure 20 during the flow process.

[0027] In some embodiments of this application, the copper tube has a diameter of 1 mm, the thickness of the mesh capillary structure is between 0.07 mm and 0.09 mm, and the wall thickness of the copper tube is between 0.13 mm and 0.15 mm. This allows the heat transfer medium 40 within the heat pipe to rapidly transfer heat between the heat source end H and the cooling end L.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic flowchart of a heat pipe structure manufacturing method according to an embodiment of this application. In a second aspect, this application also provides a method for manufacturing a heat pipe structure, which includes at least the following steps:

[0029] S1: Material preparation steps.

[0030] S2: Provide a copper tube having a cooling end and a heat source end.

[0031] S3: A mesh capillary structure is provided, which surrounds the inner side of the copper tube and extends from the side near the cooling end to the side near the heat source end. Here, the mesh capillary structure contacts the inner surface of the copper tube from the cooling end to the heat source end, increasing the contact area between the heat transfer medium and the mesh capillary structure.

[0032] S4: A wire mesh insertion step, in which a stainless steel rod 50 is inserted through the copper tube 10, causing the mesh capillary structure 20 to abut against the inner surface of the copper tube. Please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of the stainless steel rod insertion state of a heat pipe structure according to an embodiment of this application. The stainless steel rod 50 is inserted into the copper tube 10 and the mesh capillary structure 20 abuts against the inner surface of the copper tube 10, thereby creating a space for the formation of the air passage.

[0033] S5: A sintering step, sintering the copper tube and the mesh capillary structure to bond the mesh capillary structure and the copper tube. At this time, the stainless steel rod 50 is maintained within the mesh capillary structure 20, thereby ensuring the formation of the air passage.

[0034] S6: A rod-pulling step, in which the stainless steel rod is pulled out of the copper tube, so that an air passage is formed inside the copper tube.

[0035] S7: A heat transfer medium injection step, injecting a heat transfer medium into the gas passage; and a vacuuming step, bringing the inside of the copper tube into a vacuum state.

[0036] In some embodiments of this application, the stainless steel rod is further subjected to nitriding treatment before performing the mesh-threading step. Referring to Figure 2, this nitriding treatment can prevent impurities from entering the mesh capillary structure 20 and the air passage 30 due to carbonization or oxidation of the stainless steel rod 50, thus avoiding affecting the reflux efficiency of the heat transfer medium for subsequent cooling.

[0037] In some embodiments of this application, after performing the rod pulling step, a sealing step is also performed to form a cooling sealing portion L1 at the cooling end L; and an empty pipe weighing step is performed to weigh the current heat pipe semi-finished product after the cooling sealing portion L1 is formed, and to determine the injection amount of the heat transfer medium 40 based on the weight of the heat pipe semi-finished product.

[0038] Compared to prior art, this application provides a heat pipe structure and its manufacturing method, wherein the heat pipe structure includes a copper pipe having a cooling end and a heat source end; an air channel located inside the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; a mesh capillary structure surrounding the inner side of the copper pipe and located between the air channel and the copper pipe, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; and a heat transfer medium injected into the air channel; wherein the diameter ratio of the air channel to the diameter of the copper pipe is between 1:2 and 3:5. By setting the mesh capillary structure to surround the inner side of the copper pipe and located between the air channel and the copper pipe wall, and the inner side of the mesh capillary structure being directly set as the air channel, the efficiency of condensation and evaporation of the heat transfer medium at the cooling end and the heat source end is improved, and the air channel space inside the heat pipe can also be increased.

[0039] It should be noted that the combination of the various elements in this application preferably forms the above-mentioned multiple embodiments, but this should not be construed as a limitation of this application, that is, the various elements in this application may have more combinations, and are not limited to the above-mentioned multiple embodiments.

[0040] This document uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the technical solutions of this application. Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. These modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

[0041] CP, 10: Copper pipe TP: Heat dissipation material P: Heat dissipation channel L: Cooling end L1: Cooling tail section H: Heat source end H1: Heat source 20: Reticulated capillary structure 30: Airway 40: Heat transfer medium 50: Stainless steel bar

Claims

1. A heat pipe structure comprising: a copper tube having a cooling end and a heat source end; an air passage located inside the copper tube, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; a mesh capillary structure surrounding the inner side of the copper tube and located between the air passage and the copper tube, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; and a heat transfer medium injected into the air passage; wherein the ratio of the diameter of the air passage to the diameter of the copper tube is between 1:2 and 3:5; wherein, The mesh capillary structure is a double-layer structure, having an inner layer and an outer layer. The inner layer is woven from copper wires with a first diameter, and the outer layer is woven from copper wires with a second diameter, which is different from the first diameter.

2. The heat pipe structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling end of the copper pipe has a cooling seal.

3. The heat pipe structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cooling end comprises a sintered partial mesh capillary structure near the cooling end and a sintered copper tube near the cooling end.

4. The heat pipe structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the copper pipe has a diameter of 1 mm, the thickness of the mesh capillary structure is between 0.07 mm and 0.09 mm, and the wall thickness of the copper pipe is between 0.13 mm and 0.15 mm.

5. A method for manufacturing a heat pipe structure, comprising at least the following steps: a material preparation step, comprising: providing a copper tube having a cooling end and a heat source end; providing a mesh capillary structure surrounding the inner side of the copper tube, extending from a side near the cooling end to a side near the heat source end; a mesh threading step, inserting a stainless steel rod through the copper tube, causing the mesh capillary structure to abut against the inner surface of the copper tube; a sintering step, sintering the copper tube and the mesh capillary structure to bond the mesh capillary structure and the copper tube; a rod removal step, removing the stainless steel rod from the copper tube to form an air channel inside the copper tube; a heat transfer medium injection step, injecting a heat transfer medium into the air channel; and a vacuuming step, placing the inside of the copper tube under a vacuum; wherein... The mesh capillary structure is a double-layer structure, having an inner layer and an outer layer. The inner layer is woven from copper wires with a first diameter, and the outer layer is woven from copper wires with a second diameter, which is different from the first diameter.

6. The method for fabricating a heat pipe structure as described in claim 5, wherein prior to performing the mesh threading step, the stainless steel rod is further subjected to nitriding treatment.

7. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe structure as described in claim 5, wherein the cooling end of the copper pipe has a cooling seal.

8. The method for fabricating a heat pipe structure as described in claim 5, wherein, After performing the rod pulling step, a sealing step is performed to form a cooling seal at the cooling end; and an empty tube weighing step is performed to weigh the next heat pipe semi-finished product after the cooling seal is formed, and to determine the injection amount of the heat transfer medium based on the weight of the heat pipe semi-finished product.

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