Opportunities / ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF

TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: Heat Pipe Reactor Wick and Fill Platform

Description (excerpt)

This technology platform from Los Alamos National Laboratory enables more reliable high-temperature heat pipe reactors by improving the way critical wick structures are manufactured and how heat pipe arrays are filled, sealed, and checked for quality. A stronger wick gives the system the capillary action needed to move liquid metal through the pipe under demanding thermal conditions, while the fill platform helps prepare clean, repeatable assemblies that are better suited for reactor-grade use. For organizations working in nuclear, space, or other high-heat environments, the Heat Pipe Reactor Wick and Fill Platform offers a more practical route to building durable thermal hardware with fewer manufacturing bottlenecks. How it Works The Heat Pipe Reactor Wick and Fill Platform begins with wick fabrication, where a fine mesh or similar material is shaped around a mandrel and compressed so the layers can be bonded into a strong porous tube. Depending on the version, the wick can be formed by drawing, hydroforming, or other controlled shaping methods before diffusion bonding locks the structure in place. After bonding, the temporary mandrel and sheath are removed by etching, leaving a porous wick with the pore structure and geometry needed for high-temperature alkali metal heat pipes. The fill process is designed to load, seal, and inspect heat pipe arrays under controlled atmosphere conditions, often using vacuum or inert gas environments. That workflow can be automated with precision metering, controlled handling, and laser welding, which helps improve repeatability and reduce contamination risk. Quality control can be built into both the wick and fill steps through inspection of the porous structure, leak testing, fill verification, and process monitoring, all of which support more consistent reactor-scale production. Technical Description The wick fabrication methods focus on producing a porous annular structure with the strength and capillary performance required for high-temperature heat pipe reactors. In one approach, mesh layers are wrapped around an etchable mandrel, compressed inside a sheath, and diffusion bonded so the layers fuse into a stable structure. After bonding, the mandrel and sheath are removed chemically, leaving a porous tube that functions as the wick. Related versions use hydroforming or modular splicing to support curved, variable or larger-format wick geometries that are difficult to make with conventional methods. A second technical …

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