Experimental investigation on a novel multi-branch heat pipe for multi-heat source electronics

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel multi-branch heat pipe (MBHP) that can be utilized for heat dissipation in multi-heat source electronics. The proposed heat pipe consists of three branches—two with an evaporator and one with a condenser—connected by vapor lines and liquid lines. A test system was implemented to study the filling ratio, the start-up characteristics, the power distribution characteristics, the dynamic characteristics and the thermal resistance of the heat pipe. The experimental results obtained indicate the following: 1) the optimal working fluid filling ratio of MBHP is between 75% and 100%; 2) the MBHP can start up steadily under tested heating load; 3) the ideal heat load of the MBHP (filling ratio 75%) was within a range of 30–160W, in which the minimum total thermal resistance was 0.04°C/W and the maximum temperatures of both evaporators were less than 110°C under the limiting heating load of 160W.