Heat Pipe and Phase Change Heat Transfer Technologies for Electronics Cooling

The heat pipe is a well-known cooling module for advanced electronic devices. The heat pipe has many applications, particularly in electronics and related area such as PC, laptop, display, artificial satellite, and telecommunication modules. The heat pipe utilizes phase change heat transfer inside enveloped structures, where the working fluid evaporates in heated zone, and vapor moves to the condenser, and the condensed liquid is pumped back through microporous structure call wick. The performance of applicability in electronics of heat pipe is strongly dependent on the geometry, working fluid, and microstructure of wick. Therefore, it is worth considering the theory and technologies related to heat pipes for advanced electronics cooling. According to the purpose of this chapter mentioned above, the author considers fundamental aspects regarding heat pipe and phase change phenomena. First, the working principle of heat pipe is introduced. Important parameters in heat pipe are considered, and theoretical model for predicting the thermal performance of the heat pipe is introduced. In addition, design method for heat pipe is presented. Finally, applications of heat pipe to electronics cooling are presented. This chapter covers knowledge and state-of-art technologies in regard to heat pipe and phase change heat transfer. For a reliable operation of future electronics that have ultra-high heat flux amounts to 1000 W/m2, heat pipe and phase change heat transfer are essential. This chapter provides the most valuable opportunity for all readers from industry and academia to share the professional knowledge and to promote their ability in practical applications.