HEAT EXCHANGER ASSEMBLY AND HEAT EXCHANGE MANIFOLD

摘要

A heat exchanger includes a manifold having a number of parallel heat pipes extending between a head pipe and a tail pipe or feeder pipe. The tail pipe is parallel to the head pipe. The heat pipes define many capillaries extending in parallel between the head pipe and the tail pipe. The hollow interiors of the head pipe, tail pipe and the capillaries define a fluid reservoir within the manifold. The reservoir holds thermally conductive fluid. The manifold provides a heat transfer surface. The heat transfer surface may be positioned to contact either a cooling face or a heating face of a row of thermoelectric modules. The heat transfer surface is located on the head pipe, tail pipe or heat pipes. When current is applied to the thermoelectric modules, the cooling or heating effect on the fluid contained in the reservoir induces fluid movement within the capillaries to enhance heat transfer. The manifold may be assembled with one or more similar manifolds so that a first manifold is heated by the row of modules and a second adjacent manifold is cooled by the same row of modules positioned between the two manifolds.