HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY MATERIALS FROM ENCAPSULATED HEAT PIPES

HIGH CONDUCTIVITY IN MATERIALS IS CREATED BY THE ENCAPSULATION OF MICRO-SIZED HEAT PIPES WITHIN THE MATERIAL ITSELF. THE WROUGHT MATERIALS CONTAIN CAPILLARIES WHICH ARE PERFECTLY STRAIGHT, IN REGULAR ARRAYS, CAN BE FORMED IN ANY SHAPE, HAVE OPEN AREAS AS LARGE AS 70%, AND DIAMETERS AS SMALL AS 0.0004 INCH. USED AS HEAT PIPE ARTERIES AND VAPOR SPACES, AND TO FORM WICK STRUCTURES, HEAT PIPE CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSIONS ON THE ORDER OF SEVERAL MILS ARE POSSIBLE. ADDITIONALLY, THE MATERIALS CAN BE FORMED AND MACHINED WITHOUT DAMAGING THE CAPILLARIES. THE HEAT PIPES CAN BE DISTRIBUTED WITHIN THE MATERIAL BASED ON THE HEAT FLUX DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE DEVICE INTO WHICH THE MATERIAL IS INCORPORATED. IT IS PROPOSED THAT MATERIALS BE DESIGNED AND FABRICATED FOR EACH OF THREE APPLICATIONS: ELECTRICAL, MAGNETIC AND STRUCTURAL. A LARGE NUMBER OF METALS ARE LISTED AS CANDIDATES AND AS METALS WITH WHICH XEMET HAS EXPERIENCE. THESE ARE DISCUSSED, DEVICES DESCRIBED, AND PHOTOGRAPHS AND MICROPHOTOGRAPHS OF CAPILLARY STRUCTURES ARE SHOWN.