Sintering technology for micro heat pipe with sintered wick

In order to study reasonable sintering technological parameters and appropriate copper powder size range of micro heat pipe (MHP) with the sintered wick, the forming principle of copper powders in wicks and MHP’s heat transfer capabilities were first analyzed, then copper powders with different cell sizes and dispersions were sintered in RXL-12-11 resistance furnace under the protection of the hydrogen at different sintering temperatures for different durations of sintering time, and finally the sintered wicks’ scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and their heat transfer capabilities were analyzed. The results indicate that the wick sintered with copper powders of larger cell size or smaller size range has better sintering properties and larger heat transfer capabilities; and that the increase of either sintering temperatures or sintering time also helps to improve the wick’s sintering properties and heat transfer capabilities, and the former affects more obviously than the latter. Considering both its manufacturing cost and performance requirements, it is recommended that copper powders with the size range of 140–170 μm are sintered at 900–950°C for 30–60 min in practical manufacturing. In addition, two approaches to improve wick’s porosity are also proposed through theoretical analysis, which suggests that the larger the wick’s porosity, the better the heat transfer capabilities of the MHP.