Compatible Fluids and Materials

Since heat pipes were rediscovered by George Grover in 1963, extensive life tests have been conducted to determine compatible envelope/fluid pairs, and a large number have been found.  Some of these life tests have been conducted for decades.  As discussed in Most Commonly Used Envelope/Fluid Pairs, most heat pipes are fabricated for electronics cooling, and are either copper/water or copper/methanol.  Most spacecraft heat pipes are aluminum/ammonia, most heat pipes for HVAC applications are copper/R134a or steel/R134a, and most high temperature heat pipes are superalloy/alkali metal.  These envelope/fluid pairs cover the vast majority of heat pipes used today.

This webpage discusses the compatibility for these envelope/fluid pairs, and other pairs used in special circumstances.  Table 3 lists most envelope/fluid pairs used today, as well as some envelopes that are known to be incompatible.  Research is still ongoing in the temperature range from 150 to 400°C, see High Temperature Water Life Tests and Intermediate Temperature Fluids Life Tests for more details.

An estimated upper and lower fluid temperature range is also shown.  In most cases, the lower limit is set by the sonic limit, while the upper limit is set by the maximum vapor pressure that can be contained with a reasonable envelope wall thickness.  Heat pipes can be built that operate at lower temperatures with a large diameter to maximize the sonic limit, theoretically down to the triple point).  Heat pipes can also be built that operate at higher temperatures, theoretically up to the critical point, but will require a thicker envelope to withstand the vapor pressure, and will have a reduced capillary limit.

The practical upper temperature limit for copper/water heat pipes is set by the vapor pressure at around 150°C; Monel or titanium are used at higher temperatures.   It is very important to note that Table 3 lists the generic type of material, such as Monel or Superalloy.  In many cases, only some alloys are known to be compatible, while others have not been tested.  Only some stainless steels are suitable for cryogenic heat pipes, since other steels become very brittle at low temperature.  For additional help in selecting fluids and materials, please email one of our capable engineers at info@1-ACT.com or call us at (717)-295-6061.

Table 3.  Working Fluid and Envelope Compatibility, with Practical Temperature Limits.

Operating Min Temp., °C	Operating Max Temp., °C	Working Fluid	Envelope Materials	Comments
-271	-269	Helium	Stainless Steel, Titanium
-258	-243	Hydrogen	Stainless Steel
-246	-234	Neon	Stainless Steel
-214	-160	Oxygen	Aluminum, Stainless Steel
-203	-170	Nitrogen	Aluminum, Stainless Steel
-170	0	Ethane	Aluminum, Stainless Steel	CCHPs below Ammonia Freezing point
-150	40	Propylene	Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Nickel	LHPs below Ammonia Freezing point
-100	120	Pentane	Aluminum, Stainless Steel
-80	50	R134a	Stainless Steel	Used in Energy Recovery
-65	100	Ammonia	Aluminum, Steel, Stainless Steel, Nickel	Copper, titanium are not compatible
-60	~ 100  to 25	Methanol	Copper, Stainless Steel	Gas observed with Ni at 125°C, Cu at 140°C.  Aluminum and titanium are not compatible
-50	~ 100	Acetone	Aluminum, Stainless Steel	Decomposes at higher temperatures
-50	280	Toluene	Al at 140°C, Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Cu-NI	Gas generation at higher temperatures (ACT life test)
20	280, short term to 300	Water	Copper, Monel, Nickel, Titanium	Short term operation to 300°C.  Aluminum, steels, stainless steels and nickel are not compatible
100	350	Naphthalene	Al, Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Cu-Ni	380°C for short term.  Freezes at 80°C
200	300, short term to 350	Dowtherm A/Therminol VP	Al, Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium	Gas generation increases with temperature.  Incompatible with Copper and Cu-Ni
200	400	AlBr3	Hastelloys	Aluminum is not compatible.  Freezes at 100°C
400	600	Cesium	Stainless Steel, Inconel, Haynes, Titanium	Upper limit set by where K is the better working fluid.  Monel, Copper, and Copper-Nickel are not compatible
500	700	Potassium	Stainless Steel, Inconel, Haynes	Upper limit set where Na is the better fluid.  Monel and Copper are not compatible
500	800	NaK	Stainless Steel, Inconel, Haynes	Upper limit set where Na is the better working fluid.   Monel and Copper are not compatible
600	1100	Sodium	Stainless Steel, Inconel, Haynes	Upper limit set by Haynes 230 creep strength
1100	1825	Lithium	Tungsten, Niobium. Molybdenum, TZM	Lithium not compatible with superalloys.  Refractory metals react with air

 

The upper temperature limits for cesium, potassium, and NaK are set by ranking the properties of suitable alkali metals at a given temperature.  For example, cesium is not normally used at higher temperatures than 600º, since potassium is a superior working fluid.   This can be seen graphically in Figure 14, which compares heat pipe power versus temperature for identical heat pipes using either cesium or potassium as the working fluid.  On the left side of the graph, the maximum heat pipe power is set by the sonic limit (the roughly parabolic part of the curve), while on the right side of the graph, the maximum power is set by the capillary limit (the roughly flat part of the curve).  At lower temperatures, more power can be carried with cesium, since it has a higher vapor density (and higher sonic limit) at any given temperature.  Once the temperature is increased above roughly 500°C, the potassium heat pipe carries more power (for this particular design).  This is the reason that Table 3 states that cesium is not normally used above 600°C.

 

Return to Heat Pipe Materials, Working Fluids, and Compatibility…