| dc.description.abstract | Continued development of highly compact and powerful electronic components
has led to the need for a simple and effective method for controlling the thermal
characteristics of these devices. One proposed method for thermal control involves
the use of a micro heat pipe system containing a working fluid with physical properties
having been speciffcally selected such that the heat pipes, as a whole, vary in effective
thermal conductance, thereby providing a level of temperature regulation. To further
explore this possibility, a design scenario with appropriate constraints was established
and a model developed to solve for the effective thermal conductance of individual
heat pipes as a function of evaporator-end temperature. From the results of this
analysis, several working fluids were identified and selected from a list over thirteen
hundred that were initially analyzed. Next, a thermal circuit model was developed
that translated the individual heat pipe operating characteristics into the system as a
whole to determine the system level effects. It was found that none of the prospective
fluids could completely satisfy the established design requirements to regulate the
device temperature over the entire range of operating conditions. This failure to
fully satisfy design requirements was due, in large part, to the highly constrained
nature of problem definition. Several fluids, however, did provide for an improved
level of thermal control when compared to the unmodified design. Suggestions for improvements that may lead to enhanced levels of thermal control are offered as well
as areas that are in need of further research. | en |
