Vapor chambers provide highly effective heat spreading to assist in the thermal management of electronic devices. Although there is a significant body of literature on vapor chambers, most prior research has focused on their steady-state response. In many applications, electronic devices generate inherently transient heat loads and, hence, it is critical to understand the transient thermal response of vapor chambers. We recently developed a semi-analytical transport model that was used to identify the key mechanisms that govern the thermal response of vapor chambers to transient heat inputs (Int. J. Heat Mass Trans. 136 (2019) 995-1005). The current study utilizes this understanding of the governing mechanisms to develop design guidelines for improving the performance of vapor chambers under transient operating conditions. Two key aspects of vapor chamber design are addressed in this study: first, a parametric optimization of the wall, wick, and vapor-core thicknesses: and second, the selection of the working fluid. A protocol is demonstrated for selecting these parameters given the external vapor chamber envelope dimensions and boundary conditions. The study helps provide a framework for designing vapor chambers subject to transient heat loads, and to differentiate such design from the practices followed traditionally for steady-state operation. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vapor chambers can offer a passive heat spreading solution for thermal management in electronics applications ranging from mobile devices to high-power servers. The steady-state operation and performance of vapor chambers has been extensively explored. However, most electronic devices have inherently transient operational modes. For such applications, it is critical to understand the transient thermal response of vapor chamber heat spreaders and to benchmark their transient performance relative to the known behavior of metal heat spreaders. This study uses a low-cost, 3D, transient semi-analytical transport model to explore the transient thermal behavior of thin vapor chambers. We identify the three key mechanisms that govern the transient thermal response: (1) the total thermal capacity of the vapor chamber governs the rate of increase of the volume-averaged mean temperature; (2) the effective in plane diffusivity governs the time required for the spatial temperature profile to initially develop; and (3) the effective in-plane conductance of the vapor core governs the range of the spatial temperature variation, and by extension, the steady-state performance. An experiment is conducted using a commercial vapor chamber sample to confirm the governing mechanisms revealed by the transport model; the model accurately predicts the experimental measurements. Lastly, the transient performance of a vapor chamber relative to a copper heat spreader of the same external dimensions is explored as a function of the heat spreader thickness and input power. The mechanisms governing the transient behavior of vapor chambers are used to explain the appearance of key performance thresholds beyond which performance is superior to the copper heat spreader. This work provides a foundation for understanding the benefits and limitations of vapor chambers relative to metal heat spreaders in transient operation and may inform the design of vapor chambers for improved transient performance. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two-phase cold plates, in which heat is transferred to a fluid flow via the process of flow boiling, offer a high performance thermal management solution for a variety of applications. Studies have identified that flow in such cold plates can be accompanied by flow instabilities. This work studies the maldistribution of flow in parallel channel cold plates. A dynamic model is developed to solve the hydrodynamics and the heat transfer in a system of parallel channels, embedded in a common base, connected to common inlet and outlet headers. The model solves the hydrodynamics by combining the pressure drop models for single channels with a model for the driving pump. The conduction in the base and the walls is solved by using a resistance network approach. The stability of the steady-state solutions of the model is used to identify the effects of heat transfer in the cold plate base and walls on the distribution of flow in the parallel channels. It is observed that increasing thermal connection among the channels, via the base and the walls, reduces the degree of maldistribution in the parallel channel cold plate. A threshold in the value of the base and wall thermal conductivity is identified, such that any higher value would necessarily lead to a uniform flow distribution in the channels. It is also identified that this threshold increases with increasing number of channels; the threshold has a quadratic polynomial relation with the number of channels. These results provide insight into the relevance of thermal connection between the parallel channels regarding mitigating the maldistribution of flow in parallel channel cold plates.

Advances in the computational performance of electronic devices have created a clear need for improved methods of passive thermal management. This has led to renewed interest in the use of vapor chambers as heat spreaders in applications ranging from mobile devices to high-performance-computing and power electronics systems. While there has been significant effort to develop vapor chambers for these applications, their designs have largely relied on steady-state analyses and performance prediction. In many applications, however, the heat load is inherently transient in nature. Heat spreader design must consider transient performance in response to these use-case scenarios. While detailed numerical models of transient vapor chamber operation have been developed, a transient modeling approach with low computational cost is needed for parametric study and quick assessment of vapor chamber performance in system-level models. In the current work, a low-cost, transient vapor chamber model is developed targeting the geometries and operating conditions typical of thermal management applications. The model considers mass, momentum, and energy transport in the vapor chamber wall, wick, and vapor core as well as phase change at the wick-vapor interface. The governing equations are simplified to a system of first-order differential equations based on a scaling analysis and assuming a functional form for the temperature profile along the thickness dimension. For an example case, the model is demonstrated to have a computational cost reduction of three to four orders of magnitude as compared to using a finite-volume discretized numerical model, but with comparable levels of accuracy.

The behavior of a vapor chamber is strongly coupled to the thermophysical properties of the working fluid within. It is well known that these properties limit the maximum power (heat load) at which a vapor chamber can operate, due to incidence of the capillary limit. At this limit, the available capillary pressure generated within the wick structure balances the total pressure drop incurred along the path of fluid flow within the wick. A common figure of merit prioritizes working fluids that maximize this capillary-limited operating power. The current work explores working fluid selection for ultra-thin vapor chambers based on a thermal performance objective, rather than for maximized power dissipation capability. A working fluid is sought in this case that provides the minimal thermal resistance while ensuring a capillary limit is not reached at the target operating power. A resistance-network-based model is used to develop a simple analytical relationship for the vapor chamber thermal resistance as a function of the working fluid properties, operating power, and geometry. At small thicknesses, the thermal resistance of vapor chambers becomes governed by the saturation temperature gradient in the vapor core, which is dependent on the thermophysical properties of the working fluid. To satisfy the performance objective, it is shown that the choice of working fluid cannot be based on a single figure of merit containing only fluid properties. Instead, the functional relationship for thermal resistance must be analyzed taking into account all operating and geometric parameters, in addition to the thermophysical fluid properties. Such an approach for choosing the working fluid is developed and demonstrated. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vapor chamber technologies offer an attractive approach for passive heat spreading in mobile electronic devices, in which meeting the demand for increased functionality and performance is hampered by a reliance on conventional conductive heat spreaders. However, market trends in device thickness mandate that vapor chambers be designed to operate effectively at ultra-thin (sub-millimeter) thicknesses. At these form factors, the lateral thermal resistance of vapor chambers is governed by the saturation temperature/pressure gradient in the confined vapor core. In addition, thermal management requirements of mobile electronic devices are increasingly governed by user comfort; heat spreading technologies must be designed specifically to mitigate hot spots on the device skin. The current work considers these unique transport limitations and thermal requirements encountered in mobile applications, and develops a methodology for the design of vapor chambers to yield improved condenser-side temperature uniformity at ultra-thin form factors. Unlike previous approaches that have focused on designing evaporator-side wicks for reduced thermal resistance and delayed dryout at higher operating powers, the current work focuses on manipulating the condenser-side wick to improve lateral heat spreading. The proposed condenser-side wick designs are evaluated using a 3D numerical vapor chamber transport model that accurately captures conjugate heat transport, phase change at the liquid vapor interface, and pressurization of the vapor core due to evaporation. A biporous condenser-side wick design is proposed that facilitates a thicker vapor core, and thereby reduces the condenser surface peak-to-mean temperature difference by 37% relative to a monolithic wick structure. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vapor chamber technologies offer an attractive approach for passive cooling in portable electronic devices. Due to the market trends in device power consumption and thickness, vapor chamber effectiveness must be compared with alternative heat spreading materials at ultrathin form factors and low heat dissipation rates. A test facility is developed to experimentally characterize performance and analyze the behavior of ultrathin vapor chambers that must reject heat to the ambient via natural convection. The evaporator-side and ambient temperatures are measured directly; the condenser-side surface temperature distribution, which has critical ergonomics implications, is measured using an infrared (IR) camera calibrated pixel-by-pixel over the field of view and operating temperature range. The high thermal resistance imposed by natural convection in the vapor chamber heat dissipation pathway requires accurate prediction of the parasitic heat losses from the test facility using a combined experimental and numerical calibration procedure. Solid metal heat spreaders of known thermal conductivity are first tested, and the temperature distribution is reproduced using a numerical model for conduction in the heat spreader and thermal insulation by iteratively adjusting the external boundary conditions. A regression expression for the heat loss is developed as a function of measured operating conditions using the numerical model. A sample vapor chamber is tested for heat inputs below 2.5 W. Performance metrics are developed to characterize heat spreader performance in terms of the effective thermal resistance and the condenser-side temperature uniformity. The study offers a rigorous approach for testing and analysis of new vapor chamber designs, with accurate characterization of their performance relative to other heat spreaders.