Fuel cell having an integrated, porous thermal exchange mechanism
View Patent ↗A thermal transfer system, a heat sink, and a method for transferring heat are provided. The thermal transfer system includes a fuel cell that can produce a fluid. A wick is provided to transfer the fluid to a destination at which a heat source is present. An enclosure having a porous fluid-permeable external wall can surround the fluid at the destination. When the fluid permeates or condenses on the external wall exterior surface, air exposure of that external wall will cause evaporative cooling of the fluid, and thereby enhance the cooling effect at the heat source. The fluid is a natural byproduct of the fuel cell. Accordingly, the thermal transfer system not only cools a heat source, but produces electric current. The heat sink can be thermally coupled to the heat source, and can have a plurality of fins extending from a base. One or more fins can have a fluid-permeable external wall for evaporative cooling. Fluid can be transferred more efficiently using a wick placed somewhere within the internal radial dimension of a pipe that extends from the fuel cell to the heat source. The external wall of the pipe can also be porous to maximize the fluid entrapment on the inner surface and the evaporative cooling on the external surface.
1. A thermal transfer system, comprising:
a fuel cell configured to produce a fluid;
a wick configured to transfer the fluid to a destination; and
an enclosure that surrounds the fluid at the destination having a fluid-permeable external wall that is configured to allow the enclosure to cool when the fluid permeates the external wall, wherein at least a portion of the fluid undergoes a phase change during or after permeating the external wall.
2. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprises water.
3. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the wick is configured along an elongated axis of a pipe approximately near a center of a cross-section of the pipe.
4. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 3 , wherein the pipe comprises a fluid-permeable pipe wall that surrounds the wick and is in contact with the fluid.
5. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the wick is configured at least partially within a byproduct output channel of the fuel cell.
6. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the wick is configured at least partially within the enclosure.
7. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the enclosure comprises a pair of external walls that form one fin of the enclosure separated by another pair of external walls that form another fin.
8. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the enclosure is secured to the fuel cell.
9. The thermal transfer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the enclosure is secured to a heat source component.
10. A method for transferring thermal energy, comprising:
generating a fluid by reacting gaseous fuel to produce the fluid as a byproduct of electric current generation;
transferring the fluid to a heat sink; and
forwarding at least a portion of the fluid through a wall of the heat sink to expose the fluid to air, and evaporating at least a portion of the fluid exposed to air and concurrently transferring thermal energy from the heat sink.
11. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein said transferring comprises wicking the fluid along a pipe.