Monolithic Micro Heat Pipe with Hierarchical Surface Structures
Solution Overview
Problem
Current heat transfer technologies lack efficient methods for enhancing heat dissipation across interfaces, particularly in applications requiring high thermal management, such as electronics cooling and HVAC systems, due to limitations in surface area and fluid wicking capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A monolithic hierarchical structures micro heat pipe (MHSμHP) is developed, featuring a container wall with integrated microstructures and nanostructures made from the same base material, which enhances heat transfer by increasing surface area and fluid wicking capabilities through the use of nanoparticles, allowing for deeper penetration of the working fluid into the microstructures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional smooth surfaces are used in heat transfer devices, then manufacturing is simple, but heat transfer efficiency is limited due to insufficient surface area and poor fluid wicking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by forming microstructures and nanostructures within the container wall material itself. The microstructures create porous channels while the nanostructures on their surfaces provide enhanced wicking capabilities, allowing the working fluid to penetrate deeply and efficiently, thereby dramatically improving heat transfer efficiency without complicating the manufacturing process since everything is formed from a single monolithic material
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements the nested doll principle by creating a hierarchical structure where nanostructures are nested on top of microstructures. The microstructures form the primary porous network, and the nanostructures are embedded within or on the surfaces of these microstructures, creating a multi-scale nested architecture that maximizes surface area and fluid wicking at multiple levels simultaneously
2Productivity
If surface area is increased to enhance heat transfer, then heat dissipation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the merging principle by combining the container wall material with the heat transfer enhancement structures into a single monolithic component. The microstructures and nanostructures are formed directly from the container wall material itself, eliminating the need for separate components or assemblies, thus achieving high surface area and complex hierarchical structures without increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by transforming the physical and chemical properties of the container wall material through controlled processing. By adjusting material composition, porosity, and surface treatment parameters, the patent creates microstructures and nanostructures with optimized heat transfer properties while maintaining the simplicity of a single-material construction
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The MHSμHP achieves exceptional heat transfer efficiency by increasing the surface area by 5 to 7 times and facilitating both single-phase and two-phase heat transfer, effectively managing heat across interfaces in various thermal management applications.
Implementation Method 1
Fundamental modes of heat transfer include conduction or diffusion, convection, and radiation. Heat transfer can also be described as an exchange of kinetic energy between particles through a boundary between two systems at different temperatures from one another
Implementation Method 2
The monolithic heat-transfer device includes a channel disposed in the interior surface of the container wall, where the channel comprises a microstructure and a nanostructure... facilitating both single-phase and two-phase heat transfer
Data Source
AI summary
A monolithic heat-transfer device can include a container wall configured to retain a working fluid, where the container wall is formed of a single material. The container wall also includes an interior surface configured to be in fluid communication with the working fluid. The monolithic heat-transfer device also includes a channel disposed in the interior surface of the container wall, where the channel comprises a microstructure and a nanostructure. The microstructure and the nanostructure are materially contiguous with the single material forming the container wall. In some embodiments, the nanostructure comprises one or more layers of nanoparticles. The monolithic heat-transfer device can be configured as a heat pipe, which can be constructed from the container wall and a second container wall joined together and sealed to one another to contain the working fluid (e.g., using laser welding, electron beam welding (EBW), and so forth).