<p>The use of additive manufacturing (AM) allows for the fabrication of complex metallic parts which are otherwise very difficult or impossible to create using traditional manufacturing methods.&nbsp; For multi-phase heat spreaders such as vapor chambers, their complex internal geometry lends itself well to AM, as new design features can be realized.&nbsp; The internal geometries of a vapor chamber usually involve several thin pillars to support a small internal cavity in which the phase change of a liquid, usually water, provides a means to effectively “spread” a high heat flux throughout a larger area. &nbsp;In this case study, Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) AM will be utilized to create a series of support pillars of fixed height with varying diameters and filet angles mimicking the internal geometries of a vapor chamber at varying build orientations (0˚, 10˚, 20˚, 30˚, 40˚, 50˚, and 60˚ from the normal surface) out of aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg) to observe the surface roughness and the resolution of the printed pillars.&nbsp; The understanding of the surface roughness in this study is critical to understand the fluid’s interaction with the surface to better estimate the capillary performance within an active vapor chamber; therefore, this study will also observe the wetting angle and wicking height on upward and downward facing surfaces for each of these printing angles.&nbsp; The results of this study will aid in the optimization of additively manufactured vapor chamber designs for future studies.</p>

Effect of Build Angle on Additively Manufactured Aluminum Alloy Surface Roughness and Water Wetting Ability

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/HT/HT2021/volume/84874

ASME 2021 Heat Transfer Summer Conference (SHTC2021)

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