Thirty biporous slugs with 3 different cluster diameters and 5 different particle diameters (15 combinations with 2 repetitions) and 12 monoporous slugs with 6 different particle diameters were sintered from spherical copper powder, and thermophysical properties were measured. The neck size ratio for all the particles was approximately 0.4. The porosity of monoporous samples was found to be independent of particle diameter and was equal to 0.28, and the porosity of biporous samples was found to be independent of cluster and particle diameters, and was equal to 0.64. The liquid permeability and maximum capillary pressure of small pores were found to be a linear function of the particle diameter. Similarly, vapor permeability was found to be a linear function of the cluster diameter. The thermal conductivity of monoporous samples was measured to be 142±3W∕mK at 42±2°C, and it was independent of particle diameter. The thermal conductivity of biporous samples was found to be a function of cluster to particle diameter ratio.

Thermophysical properties of monodispersed-sintered copper are measured. An apparatus to measure effective thermal conductivity of dry and wet samples is built. It is calibrated using bulk samples with known thermal conductivity. Permeability is measured based on flow resistance though the porous samples. Velocity at different pressure drops is measured and the permeability calculated using Darcy’s law. The experiment is performed using water and silicone oil as working liquids. The error of the measurement is less then five percent. Capillary pressure for all samples is measured based on amount of liquid that is held by the porous sample. The Young-Laplace relationship is used to relate capillary pressure to effective pore radius. Porosity of the samples is calculated by measuring the dimension of samples and weighing the amount of liquid in fully saturated samples. Thermal conductivity and capillary pressure are found to decrease as powder diameter increases; permeability and porosity increases with powder diameter.

Parameters that determine a critical heat flux (CHF) inside a biporous evaporator (wick) for a closed loop heat pipe have been studied. In a present work, a biporous wick structure was sintered from copper powder 53–63μm diameter into clusters 500–710μm diameter; the clusters were then sintered into 20mm long and 3mm wide wicks with different wick thickness on copper bases with three different lengths (5mm, 7.5mm and 10mm). Total of six wicks were made and tested. Copper base(mm) to wick thickness(mm) ratios of the wicks tested are: 5/5, 7.5/5, 10/5, 5/3, 7.5/3 and 10/1.5. Narrow (3mm) wicks with different copper base lengths allowed sidewise observation of the boiling inside the wick at different heat loads. Best-performed 10/1.5 wick, second best was 5/3 and then following 7.5/3, 5/5, 7.5/5, 10/5. Tests were run at atmospheric pressure and absolute ethanol as working fluid.

Boiling characteristics of three biporous and one monoporous sintered wick are tested. The monoporous wick has the same wick thickness as a comparable biporous wick. Diameters of the clusters of the comparable biporous wick are equal to the powder diameter of the monoporous wick. A second biporous wick has the same configuration as the first, but is sintered in a thicker layer. The third biporous wick that is tested has smaller cluster sizes then the first two. All three biporous wicks have clusters sintered from powder with the same size distribution. The results demonstrate the advantages of a biporous capillary structure. All biporous wicks reached higher critical heat flux (CHF) then the monoporous wick. Experiments show that larger clusters are better than smaller. Comparing two different wick thicknesses, we can see that even though there is a dryout region inside the thick wick, it is still able to continuously remove heat at constant superheat. No sudden changes in superheat are seen. This process of heat removal is not possible with the thin wick. The working fluid in all runs is methanol. 4-mm thick wick with powder diameter ranging from 53 to 63 microns and cluster diameter ranging from 500 to 707microns is able to remove 377W/cm2 at temperature difference 110°C. A partial pressure inside the test chamber at this heat flux is 0.68atm and the interface temperature 167°C.

Thermophysical properties of bidispersed (biporous)-sintered copper are measured. An apparatus to measure effective thermal conductivity of dry samples is built. It is calibrated using bulk samples with known thermal conductivity. Permeability is measured based on flow resistance though the porous samples. Velocity at different pressure drops is measured and the permeability calculated using Darcy’s law. The experiment is performed using silicone oil as working liquid. The error of the method is less than three percent. Capillary pressure for all samples is measured based on amount of liquid that is held by the porous sample. The Young-Laplace relationship is used to relate capillary pressure to effective pore radius. Porosity of the samples is measured using density method. According to the measurement results, effective thermal conductivity of biporous samples is much lower than for comparable monoporous samples. Permeability and porosity of biporous samples are much higher than the monoporous samples. Capillary pressure of the biporous samples is very close to the one measured for the monoporous samples.