Heat Pipes
Heat pipes are commonly used in many industries, in
particular in computers, working to transfer the heat from
the CPU away to the heat dissipator past which the fan
blows air. Heat pipes are also used in many industries to
move heat from one point to another.
Apricus has specially designed a heat pipe for use with
evacuated tubes. The operating temperature range from
freezing to more than 20oC
/ 395oF
means that many common heat pipes designs are not viable.
Apricus heat pipes are designed to be begin working at a
low temperature (30oC
/ 86oF),
are able to transfer heat consistently up to high
temperatures and can withstand freezing conditions without
damage.
Below is a diagram which shows the basic operation of the
heat pipe.
The operation is very simple. The heat pipes is basically a
copper pipe that has been evacuated for form a vacuum. The
heat pipe contains a small volume of purified water which
acts as the "working fluid". Because the pressure in the
heat pipe is very low, the water boils at only
30oC
/ 86oF.
The resultant steam rushes to the top of the heat pipe
where it off-loads heat, after which it condenses back to
water and runs back down to repeat the cycle. Using this
process, Apricus heat pipes have a heat transfer capacity
in excess of 110Watts, with the evacuated tubes in strong
sunlight able to provide around
50-60Watts.