Oxide-reduced copper powder can be produced efficiently at low cost. The volume shrinkage, porosity, maximum pore size, permeability and thermal conductivity of wicks sintered from two oxide-reduced (OR) powders were compared with one from water-atomized (WA) powder. The green specimens were sintered at temperatures from 800 to 1000 ?C in a tube furnace under a reduction stream of 10% hydrogen and 90% argon. The results show that the property variations of OR ? 100 and WA wicks due to porosity changes have a similar tendency and range. Nine hundred degree celsius is a recommended sintering temperature for producing ideal wicks for use in heat pipes. A smaller maximum pore size can be obtained by increasing the green density.
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