ACT - Heat Pipes

ACT - Heat PipesACT - Heat PipesACT - Heat PipesACT - Heat Pipes
There are several types of heat pipes available, including:
  • Vapor chamber: These flat heat pipes are typically used when heat fluxes and high powers are applied to smaller evaporators, as well as for enabling heat flow through very thin devices.
  • Variable conductance: Adding a non-condensable gas (NGS) that mixes with working fluid vapor and a reservoir, creates a Variable Conductance Heat Pipe (VCHP), where the effective thermal conductivity varies with the input power and heat sink conditions.
  • Diode: Diode heat pipes are designed to transfer heat in one direction, and insulate it in the opposite direction.
  • Loop heat pipe (LHP): An LHP is a passive two-phase device that is capable of transferring higher power over longer distances.
Benefits of these devices include:
  • High Thermal Conductivity (10,000 to 100,000 W/m K)
  • Isothermal
  • Passive
  • Low Cost
  • Shock/Vibration tolerant
  • Freeze/thaw tolerant

More

ACT is one of leading manufacturers and suppliers of heat pipes in the United States. We produce a wide variety of heat pipes, heat sinks and heat pipe assemblies for thermal management of electronics and applications such as LEDs, card chassis, lasers, radar systems and medical systems. Our heat pipes offer a high thermal conductivity range of 10,000 to 100,000 W/m K and excellent shock/vibration and freeze/thaw tolerance. They also provide an extremely cost-effective thermal control system solution.

HOW ARE HEAT PIPES USED?

Heat Pipes which have also be termed heatpipes or even thermal pipes, are used across a wide range of markets and applications, and we’re known for producing high-quality copper heat pipes. In fact, ACT is the only US manufacturer that routinely delivers heat pipes for terrestrial electronics cooling (copper-water), on orbit satellite thermal management (aluminum-ammonia) and high temperature calibration equipment (liquid metal). Navigate through the products section below for more information on any of these highly reliable products.

AN OVERVIEW OF HEAT PIPE TECHNOLOGY

Figure 1. Illustration of Heat Pipe operation.

heat pipe is a two phase heat transfer device with a very high effective thermal conductivity.  It is a vacuum tight device consisting of an envelope, a working fluid, and a wick structure.  As shown in Figure 1, the heat input vaporizes the liquid working fluid inside the wick in the evaporator section. The saturated vapor, carrying the latent heat of vaporization, flows towards the colder condenser section.  In the condenser, the vapor condenses and gives up its latent heat.  The condensed liquid returns to the evaporator through the wick structure by capillary action.  The phase change processes and two- phase flow circulation continue as long as the temperature gradient between the evaporator and condenser are maintained.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HEAT PIPES

If you are designing a thermal system and simply want to learn more about heat pipes for cooling, use the links in the Operation Section. If you still have questions, contact us and an engineer will be in contact with you.

See a full video and transcription about the basics of heat pipes and their advantages.

More Product Information

ACT - Loop Heat Pipes
Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) made by ACT can transport larger amounts of heat over longer distances than heat pipes. Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) are often used in conjunction with Constant Conductance Heat Pipes (CCHPs) and Variable Conductance Heat Pipes (VCHPs) to transfer waste heat from spacecraft payloads to radiators. Ammonia is the most commonly used working fluid for temperatures between -40 and 70°C. Propylene and ethane are used for lower temperatures. ACT has also developed titanium/water Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) for temperatures between 70 and 250°C.

ACT - Constant Conductance Heat Pipes
ACT fabricates Constant Conductance Heat Pipes (CCHPs) to exact aerospace requirements. These devices are manufactured under ACT’s ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified Quality System. The materials used for manufacturing (extrusions and working fluids) are certified and qualified to meet the demanding level of aerospace quality. Each aluminum extrusion is fully characterized to determine thermal capability and pressure containment capability as functions of operating temperature and fluid charge. The welding processes are performed by welders certified to AWS 17.1 Specification for Fusion Welding for Aerospace Applications.

ACT - HiK Plates / Heat Pipe Assemblies
Copper/water heat pipes are made of copper, use water as a working fluid and typically operate in the temperature range of 20 to 150°C. ACT manufactures copper/water heat pipes into two basic geometries: Tubular Heat Pipes and Planar Heat Pipes. The tubular heat pipes typically have outer diameters from 1/16″ (1.5mm) to 1.5″ (38mm). Custom diameters can be manufactured per customer requirements. The planar heat pipes are also called vapor chambers which are used as heat spreaders. Copper/water heat pipes can be combined with other components to form heat transfer assemblies.

AMETEK - Engineered Systems
When a catalog product cannot completely satisfy a requirement, AMETEK Programmable Power's Solutions Business provides custom power supply systems and integrations. The solutions range from OEM integration for medical and semiconductor industries to modular avionics ATE power subsystems to turnkey solar array simulators for satellites. We also can modify power supplies to meet your application requirements.

AVT - Custom Solutions
Sometimes applications are so specific that their requirements cannot be met by an off-the-shelf camera. At Allied Vision, we want you to find the best camera solution for your need. That is why we have developed three levels of customization for you.

Advanced Illumination - Custom Products
Advanced illumination has provided custom LED lighting solutions to the Machine Vision Industry for over 25 years. Our reputation for design and engineering know-how can help you find the most precise and cost-effective solution.
Customers can leverage our multi-tier approach to customization to reduce engineering costs.

ACT - Custom Cold Plates
When convection air cooling isn’t capable of removing the heat load necessary to keep electronics under their safe maximum operating temperature, single-phase liquid cooling solutions offer a high level of performance. Liquid-cooled, cold plates are commonly used for high-heat flux or high-power electronics cooling applications.
ADVANTAGES OF A COLD PLATE THERMAL MANAGEMENT SOLUTION
  • High heat transfer coefficient (h)
  • High heat load and heat flux capacity
  • Scalable technology
  • Adaptable to any temperature range

Xena Networks - Xena OpenAutomation (XOA)
Xena OpenAutomation (XOA) is an open-source test automation framework for use with Xena’s Valkyrie & Vulcan Traffic Generation & Analysis (TGA) solutions and Chimera, our network impairment emulator.
Fast, easy to use and extremely flexible, XOA features a Python API that runs on any OS.

Anderson Electric Controls - AC2000 DC Power Supply
  • Touchscreen
    • Install same app on PC for remote control
    • No software licensing; unlimited installs
  • Operating Modes and Features
    • Voltage / Current / Power modes
    • Battery Emulation and Solar Emulation
    • Cable compensation, programmable slew-rates, user written profiles, ripple generation, operating limits…
  • 3-Phase AC power options
    • 50 or 60 Hz
    • 480V (US), 600V (Canada), 400V (Europe), or 380V (China)
  • Remote Control
    • Ethernet, CAN and CAN-FD, EtherCAT, Fiber-Optic
    • LabVIEW and DotNET drivers available
  • Support for Test Automation Systems
    • AVL Lynx 2.0, A&D iTest Battery, Horiba STARS (coming)

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc.

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) is a premier thermal management solutions company. Started in 2003 as an R&D company, ACT has grown into a leading manufacturer of thermal management products for diverse industries and applications. Our thermal management designs and products are now deployed in numerous commercial satellites, military vehicles, medical devices, Primary Calibration equipment, and HVAC systems. Read more on how we partner with our customers, and how we can assist you.


Contact Details

Corporate Headquarters

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc.

1046 New Holland Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17601-5688

Phone: 717-295-6061

Fax: 717-295-6064

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