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The heat pipe: its development, and its aerospace applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

D. A. Reay
D. A. Reay*
Affiliation:
International Research and Development Co Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Extract

The transport of thermal energy from one location to another, for example from a heat source to a remote heat sink, has been a major topic of study over the past decade.

Most of the work has been directed at improving the efficiency of heat transport, while retaining the simplicity and reliability of what is, in general, considered as a secondary part of any system.

One device which has fulfilled most of the requirements of such a heat transport system is the heat pipe. The heat pipe was first proposed by Gaugler of the General Motors Corporation (US) in 1942, and was the subject of a patent published in 1944. Because the heat transfer problems of that time could be solved by more conventional methods, Gaugler's ideas remained unexploited for approximately 20 years. It was not until the early 1960s that Grover, without knowledge of Gaugler's proposals, in effect re-invented the heat pipe while working at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. Grover and his colleagues were working on spacecraft power generation systems at the time.

Type
Technical notes
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 78 , Issue 765 , September 1974 , pp. 414 - 423
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1974 

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References

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