Development of a lightweight, large-scale stainless-steel plate heat pipe (SPHP) fin for enhanced cooling in high-power electronics

Abstract

A lightweight large-scale stainless-steel plate heat pipe (SPHP) fin has been developed for cooling high-power electronics, employing very thin 0.15 mm plates and a 3D rib-lattice structure to optimize heat pipe operation. Eco-friendly deionized (DI) water serves as a working fluid of the heat pipe, aligning with environmental concerns and regulations. To assess the heat dissipation effectiveness of the SPHP fin, a constant temperature water bath experiment was conducted to compare its heat transfer characteristics with those of a conventional solid aluminum fin. Furthermore, a test rig was constructed to simulate actual heat dissipation from high-power chips and to investigate the impact of different fin types, locations, and heat fluxes of the chips on cooling performance. Additionally, a simplified method was devised for analyzing the heat transfer of the cooling fin, replacing complex evaporation, condensation, and two-phase flow processes in heat pipes with a virtual solid of high thermal conductivity. Validated by experiments, this method aids in selecting the optimal SPHP fin placement based on chip location and heat flux. The study demonstrates that the SPHP fin significantly outperforms traditional aluminum fins, reducing the temperature of a 25 W heat source by 10 °C to 20 °C depending on the chip’s location.