Abstract
To strengthen the heat dissipating capacity of a heat pipe used for integrated insulated gate bipolar transistors, as an extension of our earlier work, the effect of micro-groove dimension on the thermal performance of flat micro-grooved gravity heat pipe was studied. Nine pipes with different depths (0.4 mm, 0.8 mm, 1.2 mm) and widths (0.4 mm, 0.8 mm, 1.2 mm) were fabricated and tested under a heating load range from 80 W to 180 W. The start-up time, temperature difference, relative thermal resistance and equivalent thermal conductivity were presented as performance indicators by comparison of flat gravity heat pipes with and without micro-grooves. Results reveal that the highest equivalent thermal conductivity of the flat micro-grooved gravity heat pipes is 2.55 times as that of the flat gravity heat pipe without micro-grooves. The flat gravity heat pipes with deeper and narrower micro-grooves show better thermal performance and the optimal rectangular micro-groove dimension among the selected options is determined to be 1.2 mm (depth) × 0.4 mm (width). Furthermore, the liquid–vapor phase behaviors were observed to verify the heat transfer effects and analyze the heat transfer mechanism of the flat micro-grooved heat pipes.
Highlights
The demand for boosting modern transportation requires excellent performance of integrated insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) as driving systems
A plate gravity heat pipe (PGHP) or flat gravity heat pipe (FGHP) is a cavity of small thickness partially filled with a two-phase working fluid [3]
For a flat micro-grooved gravity heat pipe (FMGHP), similar to a FGHP, it functions as a gravity-type heat pipe which operates in a vertical orientation
Summary
The demand for boosting modern transportation requires excellent performance of integrated insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) as driving systems. Performed experiments with rectangular micro-grooved flat heat pipes They concluded that narrower or deeper grooved wick structures had better heat removal performance. Do et al [14] developed a mathematical model for predicting the thermal performance of a flat heat pipe with a rectangular micro-grooved wick structure. Good thermal performance was obtained in deep and narrow micro-grooves In their following study [16], flat micro-grooved heat pipes with rectangular and triangular micro-grooves were compared, indicating the rectangular micro-grooves allowed for higher capillary limits than the triangular micro-grooves. Gillot et al [17] studied flat silicon heat pipes used as thermal spreaders in power devices such as IGBTs. The results showed that when using a rectangular micro-grooved silicon heat pipe, heat was more uniformly distributed and thermal resistance was decreased.
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