About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
3D Printing of Scaffolds and Porous Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
Infill-Controlled Porosity in Additively Manufactured Copper Wicks for Passive Thermal Management |
| Author(s) |
Tianyu Zhang, Ibrahim Olalekan Lawal, Samir Mekid |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Tianyu Zhang |
| Abstract Scope |
Copper wicks are key components in heat pipes and vapor chambers used for passive thermal management in electronics, power devices, and aerospace systems. Their performance depends on balancing permeability for liquid transport and capillary pressure for fluid return. This study investigates infill density as a design parameter to tailor the pore architecture and capillary performance of sintered copper wicks fabricated from a polylactic acid/copper composite via fused filament fabrication. Specimens with infill densities of 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% were printed, debound, and sintered to produce interconnected porous copper structures. Porosity, permeability, and capillary pressure were characterised using the Archimedes method, Darcy flow measurements, and capillary rise tests. Results show that decreasing infill density increases porosity and permeability while reducing capillary pressure, indicating the transport-capillary trade-off. These findings establish infill density as a practical processing parameter to tailor the performance of porous copper wicks for advanced passive thermal management applications. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: None Selected |
| Keywords |
Additive Manufacturing, Characterization, Copper / Nickel / Cobalt |