Heat transfer of copper mesh–powder composite-based sintered-wick vapor chamber

Abstract

With the rapid spread of high-power density equipment, the vapor chamber must adapt to more applicable environments and exhibit a better heat transfer performance. The copper mesh and powder are sintered in this work to make a composite wick vapor chamber (CW-VC). Six sections of copper wire are cut and sintered together with the wick as the inner support column of the CW-VC. The effects of filling ratio and inclination on the heat transfer performance of the vapor chamber are investigated. The experimental results showed that the maximum thermal power of the CW-VC is 23.29 W at the optimal liquid filling ratio of 80% and the lowest thermal resistance is 0.33 °C/W. Below the liquid filling ratio of 60%, when the inclination angle of the CW-VC increases, its thermal resistance increases. At filling ratios of 70%, 80%, and 90%, the inclination angle of 30° can reduce the thermal resistance of the CW-VC. It implies that the inclination angle of the CW-VC can be increased appropriately to reduce the thermal resistance when the filling ratio is high. However, when the liquid filling ratio is low, increasing the inclination angle of the CW-VC will make the liquid film of the evaporator thinner and dry out earlier and its thermal resistance will increase.