U.S. patent application number 10/855838 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-15 for heat-pipe engine structure.
This patent application is currently assigned to A-LOOPS THERMAL SOLUTION CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Wu, Wen-Kuang.
Application Number | 20050274488 10/855838 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35459283 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050274488 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wu, Wen-Kuang |
December 15, 2005 |
Heat-pipe engine structure
Abstract
A heat-pipe engine structure applicable to heat-exchange system.
The heat-pipe engine structure includes a metal mesh laminate
composed of more than two metal meshes which are tightly laminated
with each other to form numerous meshes several times the
unlaminated meshes of any original metal mesh. An upper metal film
and a lower metal film are respectively bonded to upper and lower
faces of the metal mesh laminate. The peripheries of the metal
films are sealed to form a housing enclosing the metal mesh
laminate. The meshes of the metal mesh laminate form a first nature
vapor chamber. A liquid ingress and a vapor egress are formed on
the periphery of the housing in different positions for externally
connecting with a circulating loop to form a loop heat-pipe for
one-way circulation of incoming liquid and outgoing vapor. The
meshes of the metal mesh laminate are densely and evenly
distributed in as the porous space in the housing for effectively
conducting the working fluid to achieve better heat evaporation
effect. In heat-exchange procedure, the working fluid is quickly
changed between two phases to enhance the circulation. The
laminated porous meshes form enough capillary pressure that
meniscus in the engine wick supports enough pressure to overcome
total system pressure drops from loop.
Inventors: |
Wu, Wen-Kuang; (Taipei City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BRUCE H. TROXELL
SUITE 1404
5205 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22041
US
|
Assignee: |
A-LOOPS THERMAL SOLUTION
CORPORATION
|
Family ID: |
35459283 |
Appl. No.: |
10/855838 |
Filed: |
May 28, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/80.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/046
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/080.2 |
International
Class: |
F28F 007/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A heat-pipe engine structure comprising: a metal mesh laminate
composed of more than two metal meshes each having many meshes, the
metal meshes being tightly laminated with each other to form
numerous meshes in the metal mesh laminate, which are more than the
meshes of any original metal mesh; a housing composed of an upper
metal film and a lower metal film peripheries of which are
connected and sealed, the upper and lower metal films being
respectively positioned on upper and lower faces of the metal mesh
laminate, whereby after the peripheries of the upper and lower
metal films are sealed, the metal mesh laminate is snugly enclosed
in the housing, the porous meshes of the metal mesh laminate
forming vapor chambers; and a fluid contained in a part of the
meshes of the metal mesh laminate.
2. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the metal mesh laminate is formed of one single metal mesh folded
into multiple layers.
3. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
each of the metal meshes of the metal mesh laminate has meshes of
the same size.
4. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein
each of the metal meshes of the metal mesh laminate has meshes of
the same size.
5. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the periphery of the housing is formed with at least one liquid
ingress and at least one vapor egress for externally connecting
with a circulating loop.
6. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein
the periphery of the housing is formed with at least one liquid
ingress and at least one vapor egress for externally connecting
with a circulating loop.
7. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein a
heat-dissipating body is connected with the circulating loop.
8. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein a
heat-dissipating body is connected with the circulating loop.
9. A heat-pipe engine structure comprising: a metal mesh laminate
composed of more than two metal meshes each having many meshes, the
metal meshes being tightly laminated with each other to form
numerous porous meshes in the metal mesh laminate, which are more
than the meshes of any original metal mesh; and a housing composed
of an upper metal film and a lower metal film peripheries of which
are connected and sealed, the upper and lower metal films being
respectively positioned on upper and lower faces of the metal mesh
laminate, whereby after the peripheries of the upper and lower
metal films are sealed, the metal mesh laminate is snugly enclosed
in the housing, the meshes of the metal mesh laminate forming a
nature vapor chamber, at least one second vapor chamber free from
the metal mesh laminate being defined between the metal mesh
laminate and the periphery of the metal films.
10. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein
at least one liquid ingress is formed on a section of the periphery
of the housing corresponding to the metal mesh laminate and a vapor
egress is formed on a section of the periphery of the housing
corresponding to the second vapor chamber for externally connecting
with a circulating loop.
11. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein
the metal mesh laminate is formed of one single metal mesh folded
into multiple layers.
12. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein
the metal mesh laminate is formed of one single metal mesh folded
into multiple layers.
13. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein
each of the metal meshes of the metal mesh laminate has meshes of
the same size.
14. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein
each of the metal meshes of the metal mesh laminate has meshes of
the same size.
15. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein
the periphery of the housing is formed with at least one vapor
egress and at least one liquid ingress, an external circulating
loop being connected between the vapor egress and the liquid
ingress.
16. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein
the periphery of the housing is formed with at least one vapor
egress and at least one liquid ingress, an external circulating
loop being connected between the vapor egress and the liquid
ingress.
17. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 15, wherein
a heat-dissipating body is connected with the circulating loop.
18. The heat-pipe engine structure as claimed in claim 16, wherein
a heat-dissipating body is connected with the circulating loop.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is related to a heat-pipe engine
structure applicable to heat-exchange system. The heat-pipe engine
structure includes a metal mesh laminate composed of more than two
metal meshes which are tightly laminated with each other to form
numerous meshes several times the meshes of any original metal
mesh. An upper metal film and a lower metal film are respectively
bonded to upper and lower faces of the metal mesh laminate. The
peripheries of the metal films are sealed to form a housing
enclosing the metal mesh laminate. A working fluid is contained in
at least a part of the meshes. The fluid-less meshes naturally form
vapor chambers communicating with each other. The meshes of the
metal mesh laminate are densely and evenly distributed for
effectively conducting the working fluid to enhance evaporation
effect. In heat-exchange procedure, the working fluid is quickly
changed between two phases that enhance the circulation and
heat-exchange effect by P-drops on loop. In addition, the heat-pipe
engine has flat structure and can be made with lightweight and
minitype for wider application. A liquid ingress and a vapor egress
are formed on the housing of the heat-pipe engine in different
positions for externally connecting with a circulating loop to form
a loop heat-pipe for one-way circulation of incoming liquid and
outgoing vapor. Accordingly, a better heat conduction effect can be
achieved.
[0002] U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,209 discloses a conventional flow
conducting device for dissipation. The flow conducting device is
composed of an evaporator and a condenser connected with each other
by a loop. By means of the evaporator, the liquid in the flow
conducting device is heated and evaporated into vapor which flows
through the loop into the condenser. The condenser dissipates heat
to condense vapor into liquid. The liquid is transferred to the
evaporator through another loop to absorb heat and evaporate.
[0003] According to the above procedure, the working fluid is
circularly changed between two phases to achieve heat dissipation
effect.
[0004] However, the above structure has some shortcomings as
follows:
[0005] 1. The capillary necessary for the operation of the
evaporator is achieved by a porous structure formed in the
evaporator by means of powder metallurgy. The sizes of the voids in
the evaporator cannot be unified. Therefore, it is hard to truly
effectively conduct the fluid to change between two phases.
[0006] 2. The evaporator and the condenser are designed with
vertical or cylindrical pattern. Due to gravity, such design limits
the application of the evaporator and the condenser. Such design
tends to seriously interfere with horizontal flowing of the
fluid.
[0007] 3. The porous structure is formed in the evaporator by means
of powder metallurgy. The outer layer of the evaporator can hardly
have a flat pattern for snugly contacting with the electric element
(chip). Therefore, the heat conduction efficiency is lowered.
Moreover, the difficulty in processing and cost for the processing
are higher. This is not so cost-effective.
[0008] 4. The meniscus in the evaporator wick result capillary
pressure will equal to the total system pressure drop, but powder
metallurgy process also disturb the outgas process, that is, it can
not be mass-produced for outgas process with powder metallurgy. The
gas will increase the pressure drop to have system primary
fail.
[0009] 5. The porous structure formed by means of powder metallurgy
generally can hardly have even structural characteristics after
sintered. Therefore, it is hard to mass-produce the products with
unified quality. Furthermore, it is hard to control the thickness
of the housing structure and the distribution of the internal
powder is more complicated. Therefore, the yield is low.
[0010] With respect to conventional micro-loop heat pipe, a
representative monograph published by NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Mr. Jentung Ku discloses that the conventional loop heat
pipe (LHP) is structurally designed with a reservoir or
compensation chamber for reserving a certain amount of working
fluid. Therefore, the evaporator can be supplemented with a proper
amount of fluid. Also, the gas or bubble is further filtered to
avoid interference of the gas or bubble with the working fluid.
[0011] In addition, the design of conventional LHP is biased to
high power (W). The design of system reaction efficiency is often
neglected. Almost all relevant publications teach that temperature
hysteresis and overshoot will take place when activated. Such
structural design leads to limitation of design of evaporator and
reservoir or compensation chamber. While successfully challenging
high power, it is impossible to mobilely deal with various heat
changes. Therefore, such structure has poor presentation in
thermodynamics, especially low-power thermodynamics.
[0012] With respect to the application of an existent CPU, the CPU
cannot accept the heat cooler which can only deal with 200 W heat
dissipation, while being unable to solve 20 W problem. However, the
CPU used in ordinary industry or aeronautic/space field can accept
this.
[0013] The design of conventional LHP is directed to forced
convection. The change of room temperature will inevitably affect
the effect.
[0014] FIG. 1 shows a conventional flow conducting device. An upper
metal film 11 and a lower metal film 12 are tightly mated with each
other to form a housing 10. The inner wall faces 110, 120 of the
upper and lower metal films 11, 12 are sintered with particles 121
by means of powder metallurgy to form capillary passage. A fluid 14
is filled in the housing 10. When one end of the housing 10
contacts with a heat source 20, the fluid 14 is evaporated to flow
through the capillary passage to the other end in contact with a
heat cooler (not shown). The heat of the vapor is dissipated by the
heat cooler so that the vapor is condensed and liquidized into the
liquid. The liquid flows back to the evaporator on the heat source
20 for absorbing heat thereof to complete a cycle. The change
between two phases can achieve the heat dissipation effect.
However, the above arrangement still has some shortcomings as
follows:
[0015] 1. The heat conductor is sintered by means of powder
metallurgy. Therefore, the heat conductor must have a considerable
thickness. Otherwise, the heat conductor tends to deform.
[0016] 2. When sintering the metal particles, the particles can be
hardly evenly distributed. Therefore, the quality of the product
cannot be unified.
[0017] 3. The heat conductor has a considerable thickness so that
the internal space is relatively reduced. Only little amount of
fluid can be filled in the housing. Therefore, the heat conduction
effect can be hardly enhanced. Moreover, the thick heat conductor
causes unexpected heat transfer. The unexpectedly evaporized wick
reduces the heat evaporating effect.
[0018] 4. The heat conductor lacks vapor chamber design. Therefore,
the heat conductor can hardly receive the pressure of saturated
vapor generated after the working fluid absorbs the heat. As a
result, the temperature is apt to abruptly increase and the heat
dissipation effect is poor.
[0019] 5. The heat conductor is a closed system. The change between
two phases takes place inside one single heat conductor. The total
two-way heat-exchange area is simply up to the area of the single
heat conductor. Therefore, the heat dissipation effect is quite
limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0020] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide a heat-pipe engine with porous structure. The heat-pipe
engine structure includes a metal mesh laminate composed of at
least two metal meshes enclosed in a housing. The metal mesh
laminate forms a micro-porous structure having numerous meshes
which are evenly densely distributed in the housing. The fluid is
evenly contained in at least a part of the meshes of the metal mesh
laminate for more effective heat-exchange. Therefore, the working
fluid is more quickly changed between two phases. In addition, the
heat-pipe engine has flat structure and can be made with
lightweight and minitype for wider application. A liquid ingress
and a vapor egress are formed on the housing of the heat-pipe
engine in different positions for externally connecting with a loop
heat-pipe for one-way circulation of incoming liquid and outgoing
vapor. Accordingly, a better heat conduction effect can be
achieved.
[0021] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
the above heat-pipe engine in which the housing is formed with
another vapor chamber. When the working fluid is heated and
evaporated, the vapor will not be compressed to create too high
saturation pressure which will hinder the internal fluid from
horizontally circulating. In other words, a chamber space is
reserved between the egress of the housing and the metal mesh
laminate for receiving the expanded volume of the saturation vapor
transformed from the instantaneously boiled liquid. Therefore, the
meniscus in the engine wick will result enough capillary pressure
to have the saturated vapor prime into the loop by egress, so that
the working fluid can more smoothly flow through the housing to
enhance the heat conduction effect.
[0022] It is still a further object of the present invention to
provide the above heat-pipe engine structure which is applicable to
heat-exchange system. A liquid ingress and a vapor egress are
formed on the housing of the heat-pipe engine for externally
connecting with a circulating loop to form a loop heat-pipe for
one-way circulation of incoming liquid and outgoing vapor. This
eliminates the shortcoming of energy loss of the reciprocally
circular heat-exchange of the conventional heat-pipe.
[0023] The present invention can be best understood through the
following description and accompanying drawings wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a conventional flow
conducting structure;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a perspective assembled view of the heat-pipe
engine of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of the heat-pipe
engine of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the flow conducting structure
of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of circled area A of FIG. 4;
[0029] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the
present invention;
[0030] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of
the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the embodiment of the present
invention according to FIG. 6; and
[0032] FIG. 8 is a perspective sectional view of the embodiment of
the present invention according to FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0033] Please refer to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The heat-pipe engine of
the present invention includes a housing 10, a metal mesh laminate
13, a fluid 14 and a vapor chamber 15A.
[0034] The metal mesh laminate 13 is formed of one single metal
mesh folded into multiple layers. Alternatively, the metal mesh
laminate 13 can be composed of more than two metal meshes 131 which
are tightly laminated with each other. The metal mesh 131 is formed
of metal wires which longitudinally and transversely intersect each
other to evenly form numerous meshes. After the metal meshes are
laminated, more or several times meshes will be formed between the
laminated metal meshes.
[0035] The housing 10 is composed of an upper metal film 11 and a
lower metal film 12. The peripheries of the upper and lower metal
films 11, 12 are connected and sealed. The upper and lower metal
films 11, 12 are respectively bonded to and connected with upper
and lower faces of the metal mesh laminate 13. After the
peripheries of the upper and lower metal films 11, 12 are sealed,
the metal mesh laminate 13 is snugly enclosed in the housing 10.
The metal films 11, 12 can be flexible as necessary for snugly
contacting with different configuration of heat source 20. In
addition, the interior of the housing 10 can be vacuumed as
necessary to enhance the flowing and circulating ability of the
working fluid.
[0036] The fluid 14 is contained in a part of meshes 1311 of the
metal mesh laminate. The other meshes 1311 free from the fluid 14
serve as a first vapor chamber 15A.
[0037] The housing 10 of the heat-pipe engine is filled with the
working fluid 14 necessary for heat conduction. When one end of the
housing 10 contacts with a heat source 20, the working fluid 14 in
the housing 10 will quickly evaporate. At this time, the first
vapor chamber 15A of the meshes 1311 serves as a capillary passage
for the vapor to flow to the other end of the housing 10. The other
end of the housing 10 contacts with the heat-dissipating body 30
which radiates the heat of the evaporated working fluid and changes
the phase of the vapor back into the liquid working fluid. Then the
fluid flows through the meshes 1311 back to the end contacting with
the heat source 20. Accordingly, the working fluid 14 in the
housing 10 can quickly absorb heat and dissipate heat and change
between two phases. Therefore, the heat dissipation effect can be
effectively achieved.
[0038] FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention,
which has another vapor chamber. After the housing 10 of the
heat-pipe engine is sealed, the metal mesh laminate 13 is enclosed
in the housing 10. A second vapor chamber 15B free from the metal
mesh laminate is defined between the metal mesh laminate 13 and an
egress 16 of the periphery of the housing 10. The vapor generated
when the working fluid 14 is heated and evaporated can easily flow
into the vapor chambers 15A, 15B. By means of the second vapor
chamber 15B, the vapor is prevented from being compressed to create
too high saturation pressure which will hinder the internal fluid
from horizontally circulating without gravity.
[0039] FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show still another embodiment of the
heat-pipe engine of the present invention. A certain section of the
periphery of the housing 10 is formed with a vapor egress 16 at the
second vapor chamber 15B. A liquid ingress 17 is formed on another
section of the periphery of the housing 10 corresponding to the
metal mesh laminate 13. An external loop 18 is additionally
connected between the vapor egress 16 and the liquid ingress 17.
The loop 18 contacts with a heat-dissipating body 30.
[0040] By means of the heat-dissipating body 30 in contact with the
loop 18, the heat of the evaporated working fluid 14 flowing in
vapor state in the loop 18 can be fully dissipated to change the
phase into liquid. The working fluid 14 will flow from the liquid
ingress 17 into the engine housing 10. When the working fluid 14
flows through the engine housing 10, the upper end of which is in
contact with the heat source 20, via the dense meshes 1311 of the
metal mesh laminate 13, heat-exchange takes place between the heat
source 20 and the fluid 14 so that the fluid 14 can quickly absorb
the heat from the heat source 20 to evaporate. The vapor flows
through the capillary passage of the first vapor chamber 15A formed
of the meshes 1311 to the second vapor chamber 15B. Then the
evaporated working fluid 14 further flows through the vapor egress
16 into the loop 18. Via the loop 18, the evaporated working fluid
14 is repeatedly circulated to the heat-dissipating body 30 for
heat dissipation. Then the vapor is restored into the liquid
working fluid 14. By means of the heat-exchange between the
circulated working fluid 14 and the engine housing 10 and the
heat-dissipating body 30, a high heat dissipation effect can be
achieved.
[0041] In conclusion, according to the above arrangement, multiple
metal meshes are laminated to form a metal mesh laminate having
evenly dense meshes. The metal mesh laminate forms a porous
structure. Each unit mesh has even voids to create equal
hydrophilic force. Therefore, the stability of the fluid in the
flow conducting system is enhanced. Moreover, the liquid working
fluid and vapor working fluid contained in the structure are
separated. Therefore, the liquid backflow and the vapor will not
interfere with each other to avoid mixture of vapor and liquid.
This eliminates the shortcomings of the conventional heat-pipe.
[0042] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the
present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many
modifications of the above embodiments can be made without
departing from the spirit of the present invention.
* * * * *