Study on the capillary performance of micro-post wicks with non-homogeneous configurations

Abstract

In this study, the capillary performance of the micro-post wicks with non-homogeneous configurations is investigated and compared with a conventional micro-post wick with homogeneous configuration. The experimental and numerical studies show that the capillary performance of the micro-post wick can be significantly enhanced, compared with the homogeneous type wick, by employing non-homogeneous configurations: a groove type wick and a square array type wick have 35% and 31% higher capillary performances, respectively, compared with the homogeneous type wick having equal post size. The capillary performance is shown to be primarily a function of the solid fraction and increases linearly with decreasing solid fraction, regardless of the wick configuration. However, the capillary performance is found to be significantly reduced when the solid fraction falls below a threshold value.