The heat pipe wick structure is a structure that uses capillaries to move the liquid working fluid from condenser back to the evaporator section. Heat pipe wick structures are constructed from various materials and methods. The most common heat pipe wick structures include: axially grooves on the inner heat pipe vessel wall, screen/wire and sintered powder metal.

Other advanced heat pipe wick structures include arteries, bi-dispersed sintered powder and composite wick structures. Columbia-Staver manufactures all of the common wick structures, as well as the advanced wick structures.

However, Columbia-Staver specialises in a “sintered powder metal” wick structure that allows the heat pipe to provide the highest heat flux capability, greatest degree of gravitational orientation insensitivity and freeze/thaw tolerance.