A mathematical model of a thin vapor chamber is proposed. The model describes the processes of two-phase heat and mass transfer in this chamber on two spatial scales: the microscopic scale of a single cell of the capillary structure of the wick and the macroscopic scale of vapor chamber as a whole. Using the micromodel, the relationships used in a macromodel are obtained that link the local capillary pressure, wick permeability, and the evaporation flux density with the values of temperature, pressure, and degree of filling the wick with the working fluid. Such a multiscale approach was used for numerical study and optimization of the vapor chamber with a wick consisting of micropillars forming a regular hexagonal structure. A fundamental limitation on the width of the vapor core of the chamber is established, which is associated with an increase in the pressure of vapor during its flow in a narrow gap. The dependence of the thermal performance of the vapor chamber on the initial degree of filling the wick with the working fluid has been studied, and the importance of the precision filling of the chamber is shown. The proposed model can be extended by developing and introducing micromodels of new types of wicks, including those with a heterogeneous structure.
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Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 96, No. 7, pp. 1886–1895, November–December, 2023.
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Koznacheev, I.A., Malinovskii, A.I., Lyakh, M.Y. et al. Multiscale Mathematical Model of Heat and Mass Transfer in a Thin Vapor Chamber. J Eng Phys Thermophy 96, 1852–1861 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10891-023-02855-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10891-023-02855-1