Heat pipes are filled with distilled water or other fluids. I imagine if nothing leaks, a HSF should last for years. Thoughts?
No clue.
I did read on a website a few years ago wherein they opened the heat pipes on a stack of coolers and none of them had any phase change material in them.
Makes me wonder.
Hmm... I'm not surprised, because heat pipes aren't "phase change" devices.I did read on a website a few years ago wherein they opened the heat pipes on a stack of coolers and none of them had any phase change material in them.
Makes me wonder.
Hmm... I'm not surprised, because heat pipes aren't "phase change" devices.
They use capillary action in a thermal cycle to transfer heat from one spot to another.
You need to keep in mind that only a very small amount of material (a single drop) is needed. Also, a lot of it is gas at any given time and it is kept in a vacuum, so I wouldn't be surprised if when they broke through the wall of the heatpipe, most of the material immediately evaporated into the air (invisible water vapor) and was ejected from the pipe. It is in there though. Don't expect to see a drop come out if you saw your heatpipe, because if the heatpipe was full of liquid it wouldn't work (how would the gas get from one end to the other if there was too much liquid), just like it wouldn't work if empty.
"Phase change" is an accurate way to describe a heatpipe. It relies on evaporating liquid to gas at the heat source and condensing gas to liquid at the fins.
No clue.
I did read on a website a few years ago wherein they opened the heat pipes on a stack of coolers and none of them had any phase change material in them.
Makes me wonder.