The Optimization of Thickness and Permeability of Wick Structure with Different Working Fluids of L-Shape Heat Pipe for Electronic Cooling

As part of the ongoing research on finned L-shape heat pipes for electronic cooling, the present work focuses on the optimization of the thickness and permeability of wick structure of L-shape heat pipe, using different working fluids. DOptimal Designs Software is used to obtain the optimal solution to align the competing parameters such as the working fluid properties, thickness of the wick and the type of wick structure. The optimization results yielded that a wick thickness of 0.52 mm and permeability of 1.39E-11 m2 with water as a working fluid could produce the minimum temperature difference between the evaporator and condenser sections of 9.56 °C and liquid pressure drop of 5730 Pa, which could increase the heat transport capability from 35 W to 43 W. These results reveal that the performance of L-shape heat pipe in terms of heat transport capability is improved by 20%.