The present disclosure relates generally to a heat sink for conveying heat from a baseplate to a cover. More specifically, it relates to a heat sink produced by additive manufacturing.
Heat skinks are used to convey heat away from a heat source, such as an electronic device, to prevent the heat source and/or other components from being damaged due to excessive temperatures. One type of heat skink that is conventionally known is a heat pipe, which uses a refrigerant fluid that changes from a liquid to a gas at an evaporator to transmit heat from the heat source to a condenser, where heat exits as the refrigerant fluid condenses back to a liquid. Conventional heat pipes employ a wick to transfer the condensed refrigerant from the condenser back to the evaporator.
Additive manufacturing is used to manufacture parts in a series of steps by progressively adding material to the part being manufactured. One type of conventional additive manufacturing uses a heat source, such as a laser, to melt a source material, such as a metal powder. Typically, the source material is removed from areas where it is not melted. This allows parts to be made with a variety of complex shapes.
A heat sink including a baseplate of thermally-conductive material defining a lower surface for conducting heat from a heat source is provided. The heat sink also includes a radiator disposed upon the baseplate away from the lower surface. The radiator includes a skin of melted material formed by additive manufacturing and enclosing a chamber. An outer wick of porous material is disposed within the chamber, the outer wick coats an inner surface of the skin. The outer wick has a physical property that varies over a distance from the baseplate.
A method of forming a heat sink is also provided. The method of forming a heat sink comprises: selectively melting a source material to form a skin defining a chamber of a radiator; forming the source material to define an outer wick of porous material within the chamber coating an inner surface of the skin; and attaching a baseplate of thermally-conductive material to the radiator to enclose the chamber, wherein the baseplate is configured to be in thermal communication with a heat source. The outer wick of porous material defines a physical property that varies as a function of distance from the baseplate.
Further details, features and advantages of designs of the invention result from the following description of embodiment examples in reference to the associated drawings.
Recurring features are marked with identical reference numerals in the figures, in which example embodiments of a heat sink 20, 120, 220 are disclosed.
The heat sink 20, 120, 220 also includes an outer wick 38 of porous material disposed within the chamber 36 and coating an inner surface 34 of the skin 32. The outer wick 38 is permeable to liquid, allowing liquid and/or gases to flow therethrough with relatively low restrictions to flow. In some embodiments, and a shown in shown in
In some embodiments, the permeable filling may be entirely comprised of the source material. In other embodiments, the permeable filling may include the source material with one or more other components, which may be added after the skin 32 is formed by the additive manufacturing process. In other embodiments, the permeable filling may include none of the source material. For example, the permeable filling may be entirely made of material that is added after the skin 32 is formed by the additive manufacturing process. The permeable filling is permeable to liquid flow, allowing a liquid or a gas to pass therethrough. The permeable filling could include other structural components, such as, for example, a lattice or a foam or a compacted solid of granules with void spaces 42 therebetween. For example, the permeable filling may comprise a combination of loose granules and another liquid-permeable material such as a lattice or a foam or a compacted solid. The permeable filling preferably functions as a porous wick, promoting capillary action to convey liquid therethrough. In some embodiments, the permeable filling provides the heat sink 20, 120, 220 with structural rigidity, which may counteract air pressure force on the baseplate 22, the cover 30, and/or the skin 32. This may be especially useful in embodiments where the chamber 36 is under a vacuum.
In some embodiments, and as shown in
In some embodiments, and as shown in
In some embodiments, and as shown in
In some embodiments, and as shown in
The second example heat sink 120 shown in
In some embodiments, and as shown in
Any or all of the wicks 38, 66, 68 may be formed by additive manufacturing (AM). In some embodiments, each of the wicks 38, 66, 68 may be formed together with the skin 32 from shared source material. For example, a first melting power and/or speed may be used to create the skin 32, which impermeable, and a second, lower melting power and/or a higher speed may be used to create any or all of the wicks 38, 66, 68, which are permeable to liquid flow. In some embodiments, paths used in the AM process between adjacent layers may be rotated to form an open lattice type structure within one or more of the wicks 38, 66, 68.
In some embodiments, and as shown in
In some embodiments, the baseplate 22 may be attached to the radiator 26 after the radiator 26 is formed. In some embodiments, unmelted source material may be removed from the radiator 26 prior to attaching the baseplate 22 thereto, thus forming the cavity 70 within the radiator 26. The baseplate 22 may be welded to the radiator 26 to hermetically seal the chamber 36. Alternatively or additionally, the baseplate 22 may be attached to the radiator 26 by other means such as using an adhesive and/or using one or more fasteners.
In some embodiments, and as also shown in
The one or more varying physical properties of the outer wick 38 may include other properties, such as composition, size, and/or shape of grains of material that comprise the outer wick 38, or size and/or shape of structural features, such as cells in a structure that comprises the outer wick 38, or any other physical property of the outer wick 38.
As described in the flow chart of
The method 100 also includes 104 forming the source material to define an outer wick 38 of porous material within the chamber coating an inner surface 34 of the skin 32. Forming the outer wick 38 may comprise melting the source material, which may be performed as part of the same additive manufacturing process used to form the skin 32. In some embodiments, this step 104 of melting the source material to define the outer wick 38 is performed using an energy source having an intensity that is lower than an intensity used to selectively melt the source material to form the skin 32.
In some embodiments, step 104 of forming the source material to define an outer wick 38 of porous material includes varying one or more physical properties of the outer wick 38 of porous material. Varying the one or more physical properties in this step 104 may include for example, varying the process of forming the source material to define the outer wick 38, for example, using different energy levels and/or different patterns. Alternatively or additionally, varying the one or more physical properties may include varying the source material. For example, source materials having different compositions and/or different physical properties, such as grain size, may be used to form different levels of the outer wick 38. The one or more physical properties may be varied as a function of distance from a given location, such as a surface of the outer wick 38 to receive a baseplate 22. The one or more physical properties may include, for example, a thickness and/or a porosity of the outer wick 38. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more physical properties may include a grain size of the porous material and/or another physical property, such as cell size or shape of the porous material. In some embodiments, the one or more physical properties may be varied in two or more discrete steps. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more physical properties may be varied continuously as a function of distance. For example, the thickness may be varied at a constant rate or at a changing rate between a first thickness and a different second thickness over a distance.
The method 100 also includes 106 attaching a baseplate of 22 thermally-conductive material to the radiator 26 to enclose the chamber 36, wherein the baseplate 22 is configured to be in thermal communication with a heat source 10. Attaching the baseplate 22 may include forming a hermetic seal enclosing the chamber 36. The baseplate 22 may be welded to the radiator 26. Alternatively or additionally, the baseplate 22 may be attached to the radiator 26 by other means such as using an adhesive and/or using one or more fasteners.
The method 100 also includes 108 removing excess source material from the chamber 36 to define a cavity 70. The excess source material may be, for example, “green” powder that was not solidified by the additive manufacturing process. In some embodiments, the excess source material may be removed from the chamber 36 prior to attaching the baseplate of 22. For example, the excess source material may be removed from a bottom surface of the radiator 26, with the baseplate of 22 subsequently covering that bottom surface to enclose the chamber 36. In other embodiments, the excess source material may be removed from a hole through the skin 32 of the radiator 26. For example, a hole may be drilled through the skin 32 for draining the excess source material from the chamber 36 of the radiator 26. Such a hole may be plugged or filled after the excess material is removed. The source material from the additive manufacturing process may be removed from the chamber 36, for example by suction or by shaking it out of one or more holes in the baseplate 22 and/or the skin 32. Additional material may be added into the chamber 36 to comprise the permeable filling. The amount and/or the composition of the permeable filling within the chamber 36 may be selected to optimize wicking of the refrigerant 50. Alternatively or additionally, the amount and/or the composition of the permeable filling within the chamber 36 may be selected to provide structural rigidity to the heat sink 20, 120, 220, and particularly to counteract air pressure where the chamber 36 contains a vacuum.
In some embodiments, the method 100 of forming the heat sink 20, 120, 220 may further include 110 evacuating air from the chamber 36. This step may be unnecessary if, for example, the chamber 36 is formed in a vacuum, so that it contains little to no air in the first place.
In some embodiments, the method 100 of forming the heat sink 20, 120, 220 may further include 112 adding a refrigerant 50 into the chamber 36; and 114 sealing the chamber 36 after adding the refrigerant 50 into the chamber 36. Sealing the chamber 36 may be performed by attaching the baseplate 22 to the radiator 26 and/or by fixing a cap or a plug to cover a passage into the chamber 36, where the passage is used at an earlier stage for adding the refrigerant 50 into the chamber 36, and/or for evacuating air from the chamber 36. Such a passage may be formed as part of the additive manufacturing process. Alternatively, the passage may be formed, for example by drilling or puncturing, after the chamber 36 is formed. Alternatively, the passage may be integrally formed in the baseplate 22 before the skin 32 is formed.
In some embodiments, the method 100 of forming the heat sink 20 may further include 116 forming an inner wick 66 of porous material coating an upper surface 25 of the baseplate 22. In some embodiments, the method 100 of forming the heat sink 20 may further include 118 forming an intermediate wick 68 of porous material disposed within the chamber 36 between the outer wick 38 and the inner wick 66 for conveying liquid therebetween.
As described in the flow chart of
The method 200 of dissipating heat by the heat sink 20, 120, 220 proceeds with 206 conveying the refrigerant 50 in the liquid phase 52 from the second region 58 to the first region 56. In some embodiments, the step of 206 conveying the refrigerant 50 in the liquid phase 52 is performed, at least in part, by capillary action through one or more wicks 38, 66, 68. Alternatively or additionally, the step of 206 conveying the refrigerant 50 in the liquid phase 52 may be performed, at least in part, by gravity. In this case, the heat sink 20, 120, 220 may have a preferred orientation in which it is most effective to remove heat from the baseplate 22.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/US2021/017642 filed on Feb. 11, 2021, and titled “Additive Manufactured Heat Sink”, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/975,549 filed on Feb. 12, 2020, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application is also a Continuation-In-Part of PCT International Application No. PCT/US2019/065768 filed on Dec. 11, 2019, and titled “Additive Manufactured Heat Sink,” which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/778,637, filed Dec. 12, 2018, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62975549 | Feb 2020 | US | |
62778637 | Dec 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/US2021/017642 | Feb 2021 | US |
Child | 17345740 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/US2019/065768 | Dec 2019 | US |
Child | PCT/US2021/017642 | US |