Development of biporous Ti3AlC2 ceramic wicks for loop heat pipe

Novel Ti3AlC2 wicks with two distinguished characteristic pore sizes were successfully developed. The heat transfer performances of the loop heat pipes with monoporous and biporous Ti3AlC2 wicks were comparatively studied. Results show that Ti3AlC2 wicks exhibit increased porosity and reduced thermal conductivity by using salt leaching pore-forming and two kinds of pores can be found in one Ti3AlC2 wick. Moreover, the loop heat pipe with biporous Ti3AlC2 wick operates reliably under the heat load of 25W compared with that employing monoporous Ti3AlC2 wick. Biporous Ti3AlC2 wicks proved to be possible alternatives to metals and conventional ceramics for applications in LHP wicks. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.