	US 12,018,893 B2
	Evaporator including a porous unit
Nahshon Eadelson, Moshav Sde-Avraham (IL)
Assigned to ZUTA-CORE LTD., Shaar Hanegev (IL)
Appl. No. 16/761,956
Filed by ZUTA-CORE LTD., Shaar Hanegev (IL)
PCT Filed Nov. 4, 2018, PCT No. PCT/IL2018/051169 § 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 6, 2020, PCT Pub. No. WO2019/087195, PCT Pub. Date May 9, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/581,794, filed on Nov. 6, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2021/0180874 A1, Jun. 17, 2021
Int. Cl. F28D 15/00 (2006.01); F28D 15/02 (2006.01); F28D 15/04 (2006.01)

CPC F28D 15/0266 (2013.01) [F28D 15/043 (2013.01); F28D 15/046 (2013.01); F28D 2015/0291 (2013.01); F28F 2250/08 (2013.01)]

9 Claims

1. An evaporator device, comprising:

a chamber comprising an inlet, an outlet, and a surface, wherein: said inlet comprises a one-directional inlet shut-off valve and is configured to direct a liquid coolant into said chamber, while preventing backflow of the liquid and generated vapor coolant, and said outlet comprises a one-directional outlet shut-off valve configured to direct only a vapor coolant away from said chamber while preventing exit of the liquid coolant out of the chamber, wherein said surface is in thermal communication with said liquid coolant or said vapor coolant, and wherein:

said inlet shut-off valve and/or said outlet shut-off valve are self-regulating; and said inlet shut-off valve and outlet shut-off valve are designed to maintain a threshold or a residual amount of said liquid coolant within a cooling interface in said chamber, by allowing liquid coolant to enter through the inlet shut-off valve once the liquid coolant in said cooling interface has dropped below said threshold, and by allowing vapor coolant to exit through the outlet shut-off valve once the threshold level or residual amount has been reached; and

a porous unit disposed adjacent to and in direct contact with said surface, wherein there is no space between the porous unit and said surface, wherein said porous unit is configured to (i) absorb said liquid coolant, (ii) bring said liquid coolant into thermal communication with said surface, (iii) subject said liquid coolant to a phase transition to a vapor coolant, and (iv) direct said vapor coolant away from said surface, wherein:

said surface and said porous unit are of different materials;

said porous unit is configured to form vapor nucleation sites at interface locations in which said porous unit contacts said surface; and

said porous unit is thermally insulating having a thermal conductivity of less than or equal to 1 watt per meter-Kelvin (W/m-k), which is less than a thermal conductivity of said surface.