Swales Aerospace

Alliant Techsystems Inc.

Orbital Atk, Inc.

Swales & Associates, Inc.

Kimberly R Wrenn

Edward J Kroliczek

David A Wolf, Sr

A two-phase heat transfer system includes an evaporator, a condenser, a vapor line, and a liquid return line. The evaporator includes a liquid inlet, a vapor outlet, and a capillary wick having a first surface adjacent the liquid inlet and a second surface adjacent the vapor outlet. The condenser includes a vapor inlet and a liquid outlet. The vapor line provides fluid communication between the vapor outlet and the vapor inlet. The liquid return line provides fluid communication between the liquid outlet and the liquid inlet. The wick is substantially free of back-conduction of energy from the second surface to the first surface due to an increase in a conduction path from the second surface to the first surface and due to suppression of nucleation of a working fluid from the second surface to the first surface to promote liquid superheat tolerance in the wick.

Evaporators including a capillary wick and a plurality of vapor grooves and two-phase heat transfer systems including such evaporators

A capillary wick for use in capillary evaporators has properties that prevent nucleation inside the body of the wick, resulting in suppression of back-conduction of heat from vapor channels to the liquid reservoir. Use of a central liquid flow channel in the wick is eliminated, and pore size in the wick is chosen to maximize available pressure for fluid pumping, while preventing nucleation in the wick body. The wick is embodied with different geometries, including cylindrical and flat. A flat capillary evaporator has substantially planar heat input surfaces for convenient mating to planar heat sources. The flat capillary evaporator is capable of being used with working fluids having high vapor pressures (i.e., greater that 10 psia). To contain the pressure of the vaporized working fluid, the opposed planar plates of the evaporator are brazed or sintered to opposing sides of a metal wick. Additionally, a terrestrial loop heat pipe and a loop heat pipe having overall flat geometry are disclosed.

Wick having liquid superheat tolerance and being resistant to back-conduction, evaporator employing a liquid superheat tolerant wick, and loop heat pipe incorporating same

Evaporator employing a liquid superheat tolerant wick

Loop heat pipe incorporating an evaporator having a wick that is liquid superheat tolerant and is resistant to back-conduction

Growing community of inventors

Sykesville, MD, United States of America

Kimberly R Wrenn