Performance analysis of natural cooling gravity heat pipe heat sink

In order to carry out effective thermal management of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) under natural convection, natural cooling gravity heat pipe heat sink with three structures were designed. The refrigerant inside the heat sink was driven by the gravity. The heat generated by the heat source was transferred to the condensers through the phase change and two-phase flow of refrigerant, and then transferred to the ambient through the natural convection of the surface of condenser. In this process, the heat was transferred from the heat source to the ambient effectively. In order to select the appropriate structure of heat sink and initial conditions such as filling ratio in practical application, the influence of the filling ratio and heating power on the thermal performance of the heat sink was investigated experimentally. The results showed that the three kinds of heat sinks can operate stably and transfer the heat timely and effectively. The performance of C1 was superior to that of C2 and C3 under the working conditions.