ThermAvant Engineers Present Findings at IMAPS Thermal Management
Discuss Thermal Performance of Flat-Plate Oscillating Heat Pipes
Four ThermAvant engineers recently discussed their research on flat-plate oscillating heat pipes at the Thermal Management workshop, an annual event sponsored by the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS).
ThermAvant’s presenters included co-founder and CEO Joe Boswell, senior engineer Dr. Corey Wilson, VP of engineering Daniel Pounds, and consultant Dr. Bruce Drolen. They explained that most uses of oscillating heat pipes (OHPs) involve “flat-plates” in opto-electronics thermal management, but that demand is growing for uses in “3D” complex geometries or structures.
The current “limits” model captures only linear, straight micro-channel phenomena, so ThermAvant decided to measure the temperature rise inside a flat-plate OHP before and after making out-of-plane turns or bends.
Initial results confirmed small effect of turns or bends on temperature, but the presenters recommend higher fidelity testing of larger sample sizes. They concluded that future upgrades to the “limits” model should encompass gravity impacts combined with turns and bends.
