Week 1

       On this day, ideas for how to create a heat pipe were discussed. First, it had to be understood as to what a heat pipe is and how it works. A heat pipe is used to transport heat from one location to another. When the pipe is heated, the liquid inside of the pipe begins to evaporate and the vapor travels to the far end, where heat escapes. This allows for the vapor inside to condense and to continue the cycle of evaporation and condensation.

       The metal that can be used for the heat pipe can either be copper, brass, nickel, or any other type of metal. It was deduced that copper would be the best metal to use because it has a high thermal conductivity and a high melting point. When heat is applied to the copper metal, it would not melt and heat would distribute throughout the metal slowly, which is ideal.

      The liquid inside of the heat pipe that can be used can be ammonia, ethanol, acetone, water, and many other liquids. However, water would be the best liquid to use because it has a high boiling point and a useful temperature working range between the temperatures of 303^oF to 550^oF¹.

       The dimensions of the heat pipe were also deliberated. Heat pipes are usually twenty-five centimeters long and about three to four millimeters wide. Therefore, it was decided that the heat pipe that will be constructed in this lab will be twenty-five centimeters in length with a three millimeter diameter.
       The pipe may be filled with water to 1/8 the length of the pipe because research showed that initially, the amount of water is around that amount. The amount of liquid inside of the pipe will continue to be discussed as the weeks progress.

       It has been determined that the machine shop will be utilized to construct the heat pipe. The pipe itself has to be welded at both ends to make it a closed pipe, and the inside of the pipe has to be devoid of air and only filled with water. As decided, the machine shop will be used in the coming weeks when parts are ordered and when the heat pipe is able to be constructed.

References:

1. Faghri, Amir. "Working Fluids and Temperature Ranges of Heat Pipes."ThermalFluidsCentral. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2016. <https://www.thermalfluidscentral.org/encyclopedia/index.php/Working_Fluids_and_Temperature_Ranges_of_Heat_Pipes>