Evaporator For Loop Heat Pipe System

Abstract

Provided is an evaporator for a loop heat pipe system including a condenser, a vapor transport line, and a liquid transport line, and more particularly, to an evaporator having an increased contact area between a sintered wick and a heating plate.

1 . An evaporator for a loop heat pipe system comprising:
 an evaporator section having a sintered wick formed by sintering a metal powder, in which a working fluid permeating through a plurality of pores in the sintered wick is heated so that the phase of the working fluid is changed to a vapor state;   a condenser section in which the phase of the working fluid transported from the evaporator section is changed from a vapor state to a liquid state;   a vapor transport line connecting between the evaporator section and the condenser section to transport the working fluid, whose phase is changed to a vapor state by the evaporator section, to the condenser section; and   a liquid transport line connecting between the condenser section and the evaporator section to transport the working fluid, whose phase is changed to a liquid state by the condenser section, to the evaporator section,   wherein the evaporator section comprises:   a heating plate formed of metal and receiving heat from a heat source;   a sintered wick coupled to a surface of the heating plate and receiving heat;   a plurality of grooves formed in a surface of the heating plate contacting the sintered wick and functioning as a passage though which the working fluid whose phase is changed to a vapor state by the sintered wick is exhausted through the vapor transport line,   wherein the grooves are formed in a side surface of the heating plate, each of the grooves having a bottom surface and two side surfaces, and the sintered wick is partially inserted in each of the grooves so as to contact at least a part of the two side surfaces of each of the grooves.   
   
   
       2 . The evaporator of  claim 1  wherein the part of the sintered wick inserted in each of the grooves is an insertion portion, both side surfaces of the insertion portion contact the two side surfaces of each of the grooves, and a lower surface of the insertion portion is any one of a downwardly bulging shape, an inwardly depressed shape, and a flat shape. 
   
   
       3 . The evaporator of  claim 2 , wherein the heating plate comprises a lower plate portion having a circular disc shape and a wall portion extending from a circumferential portion of the lower plate portion, the sintered wick is coupled to an inner surface having an upper surface of the lower plate portion and an inner surface of the wall portion of the heating plate, and a cover member is provided in an upper portion of the wall portion of the heating plate and the liquid transportation line is coupled to the cover member.