Electrowetting-driven heat switching in heat pipes: A novel concept

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The following article presents preliminary investigations into the potential use of an electrowetting gap in the realization of switchable heat pipes. In comparison with heat conductors made of solid materials, a heat pipe facilitates a substantially elevated heat flow density by leveraging the enthalpy of vaporization of a medium. Making the thermal resistance adjustable can lead to significant energy savings in thermal management systems. Existing switchable heat pipes are a relatively niche application due to downsides in their switching behavior, mass, integrability into existing system, or power consumption. In order to overcome the disadvantages of existing technologies, based on an electrowetting gap, the concept and results of a basic proof-of-concept experiment are presented. For the purpose of this study, the term Electrowetting Gap Heat Pipe (EWGHP) is introduced. Even if this experiment cannot yet be representative of an application, the development and its initial results show the potential of the technology and possible applications. The limitations of the experiment and an outlook for future research are also presented.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number104900
JournalResults in Engineering
Volume26
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 105002632667
ORCID /0000-0002-7406-7588/work/201623520
ORCID /0009-0009-9925-7888/work/201624423
Mendeley 6bf5c8d4-ea43-3d6a-8414-0099e75e5676

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Heat switch, Heat pipe, Electrowetting, Thermal management, Batteries