What is the thermal conductivity of a heat pipe?
HP’ s do not have a set thermal conductivity like solid materials due to the two-phase heat transfer. Instead, the effective thermal conductivity improves with length. For example, a 4-inch long heat pipe carrying 100 watts will have close to the same thermal gradient as a 12-inch long pipe carrying the same power. Thus the 12-inch pipe would have a higher effective thermal conductivity. Unlike solid materials, a heat pipe’ s effective thermal conductivity will also change with the amount of power being transferred and with the evaporator and condenser sizes. For a well designed heat pipe, effective thermal conductivity can range from 10 to 10,000 times the effectively of copper depending on the length of the heat pipe.
Are heat pipes reliable?
Since HP’ s have no moving parts, they are extremely reliable. This is the reason they are used extensively in space applications where maintenance is not available.
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