A hybrid surface modification method on copper wire braids for enhancing thermal performance of ultra-thin heat pipes

摘要

Copper is the most widely used material in heat pipe manufacturing. Since the capability of wick structuresinside a heat pipe willdominate itsthermal performance, inthis study, we introduce a hybrid surface modification methodon the copper wire braids being inserted as wick structure into an ultra-thin heat pipe.The hybrid method is the combination of a chemical-oxidation-based method and a sol-gel method with nanoparticles being dip-coated onto thebraid. The experimentaldatashow thatbraids under hybrid treatmentperform higher water rising speed than the oxidizedbraidswhile owninghigherwater net weightthan those braids being only dip-coated with nanoparticle.