THIN THERMAL MANAGEMENT MODULES USING FLATTENED HEAT PIPES AND PIEZOELECTRIC FANS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Thermal solutions play an integral role in managing heat loads for electronic devices. As these electronics become more compact and portable, improved thermal management solutions need to be introduced. Thin flattened heat pipes (0.8mm - 2.0mm thick) and piezoelectric fans (1mm thick) have been proposed here for this purpose. The maximum heat carrying capacity of the flattened heat pipe was experimentally determined and found to be a function of the flattened heat pipe thickness. Reductions from 48W at 2.0mm to 7W at 0.8mm were observed. This was expected to be due to capillary limitations. The piezoelectric fan could be operated in both high flow and high velocity modes. The maximum flow rate and velocity measured was 28L/min and 7.5m/s, respectively, for each of these operating modes. Finally, a range of thin thermal modules using these technologies were proposed and some performance metrics were provided. These modules had thickness ranging from 1-6mm and could transfer heat loads of 3-68W. Thus, flattened heat pipes and piezoelectric fans are promising design components whose utilization can form high performance yet thin thermal management solutions for the next generation of electronic devices.