TABLE OF CONTENTS In the previous editions of Heat Pipes, electronics cooling applications (and closely related discussions of Heat Pipes in electrical plant) have been considered as part of the wider application field. Now, however, with Heat Pipes in this application being orders of magnitude more numerous than elsewhere, and the challenges for the future of Heat Pipes and their derivatives here being considerable, a dedicated chapter is warranted.
As pointed out by Thermacore Inc. [1], the major manufacturer of Heat Pipes for electronics thermal control, the microelectronics, telecommunications, power electronics and to some extent the electrical power industries are constantly striving towards miniaturisation of devices that inevitably results in greater power densities. Therefore, there is a challenge to develop efficient management of heat removal from these high flux devices.
Current systems consist of rack-mounted units with total electronic chip powers of up to 120W per printed circuit board (PCB) and total rack powers of approximately 5 kW. From the point of view of convenience and compatibility, it is desirable to maintain the standard sizes of casings and electronic connections in the back of each case. Therefore, more components are inserted onto the same size of PCB creating higher packing densities, facilitated by the miniaturisation of components.
However, this miniaturisation, together with increasing processing speeds decreases the heat transfer surface area and increases power. This generates very high heat fluxes resulting in large temperature rises. Therefore, to maintain the chips within operating conditions, more heat must be removed and traditional...
