Research on Transport Characteristics of the Gradient Structure Wick

Phase change heat transfer devices like heat pipes are widely utilized in temperature control and heat transfer. However, the traditional single uniform wick makes it hard to meet the requirements of capillary pressure and permeability for high-performance heat pipes, thus limiting the improvement of heat transfer performance. In this paper, a gradient structure wick sintered by 316 L stainless steel powder is designed. The capillary performance is tested and characterized through permeability test experiments and capillary rise infrared test experiments. Moreover, the influence of different particle sizes of sintered powder on the capillary performance of the wick structure is studied. The experimental results indicate that the capillary pressure and permeability of the gradient structure wick are significantly improved compared with the traditional single structure wick. Its capillary performance parameter S (K $\cdot$∆Pcap) is enhanced by more than 30%, providing an effective alternative for the wick of two-phase heat exchange devices.