Investigation of the Use of an Inorganic Aqueous Solution in Aluminum-Made Phase-Change Heat Transfer Devices

An inorganic aqueous solution, known as IAS, has shown its compatibility with aluminum phase-change heat transfer devices. When using IAS in aluminum devices, aluminum prefers to react with the two oxidizers, permanganate and chromate, rather than water to generate a thin and compact layer of aluminum oxide, which protects the aluminum surface and prevents further reactions. In addition, an electrochemical theory of aluminum passivation is introduced, and the existence of an electrochemical cycle is demonstrated by an aluminum thermosiphon test. The electrochemistry cycle, built up by liquid back flow and tube wall, allows the oxidizers to passivate the aluminum surface inside the device without being directly in contact with it. However, failure was detected while using IAS in thermosiphons with air natural convection cooling. The importance of a continuous liquid back flow to aluminum passivation in phase-change heat transfer devices is pointed out, and a vertical thermosiphon test with natural convection cooling is used to demonstrate that a discontinuous liquid back flow is the main reason of the failures.