Parametric influence of open-cell metal foam on thermal and hydraulic performance

Abstract

Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Mauritius, 11-13 July, 2011.

Heat transfer in open-cell metal foams has been studied extensively, based on porous media physical properties. In this contribution, these physical properties are described as a function of the fundamental foam parameters, starting from the foam cell structure. The governing equations dealing with the multi-scale issues are introduced to rigorously derive the associated porous parameters. Experimental charactersation allowed to related these parameters the structural characteristics. This allows to perform a parametric study with respect to the thermal and hydraulic performance for a fixed flow arrangement and application, revealing an optimum.