Manufacturing and Characterization of Tube-Filled ZA27 Metal Foam Heat Exchangers

Abstract

This study investigates the heat transfer performance of a novel ZA27 metal foam heat exchanger. An open-celled metal foam is combined with a thin-walled copper tube in a single-step casting process. The heat transfer between two separated water streams flowing through the copper tube and foam, respectively, is measured and compared to an equivalent shell tube heat exchanger arrangement. Heat transfer enhancement of up to 71% and a heat transfer rate exceeding 30 kW are observed and attributed to the increased surface area of the metallic foam. However, overall performance was limited by the inefficient heat transfer between the internal mass stream and the copper tube.

Effect of Metal Foam’s Volume on the Performance of a Double Pipe heat exchanger

“…Fiedler et al, 2021 [4], investigated the effectiveness of a novel alloy of metal foam ZA27 with a heat exchanger. Through a casting technique, open cell metal foam was bonded with a pipe.…”

Mechanical properties of PLA based closed porous structures manufactured using FDM process

“…This kind of material has been utilized to solve different engineering problems mainly in general structural optimization (Gibson and Ashby, 1997), ships design (Banhart et al, 1998), aerospace applications (Dangal et al, 2021;Marx et al, 2020) and automotive industry (Moon et al, 2019;Romero et al, 2021;Yavuz et al, 2016). Porous structures can be used in ballistics for military areas (Ahmadi et al, 2020;Kaboglu et al, 2018;Marx et al, 2019), shock absorbers and heat exchangers for vehicles (Chin et al, 2022;Fiedler et al, 2021;Kuruneru et al, 2020).…”

“…, 1998), aerospace applications (Dangal et al ., 2021; Marx et al ., 2020) and automotive industry (Moon et al ., 2019; Romero et al ., 2021; Yavuz et al ., 2016). Porous structures can be used in ballistics for military areas (Ahmadi et al ., 2020; Kaboglu et al ., 2018; Marx et al ., 2019), shock absorbers and heat exchangers for vehicles (Chin et al ., 2022; Fiedler et al. , 2021; Kuruneru et al ., 2020).…”

Metal Foam Recuperators on Micro Gas Turbines: Multi-Objective Optimisation of Efficiency, Power and Weight

“…Metal foams offer higher heat transfer performance than longitudinal and spiral fins with the same surface density [24]. A shell and tube configuration built by wrapping metal foam around the outside of a metal tube has achieved up to 71% heat transfer enhancement [27]. The presence of metal foam both inside and outside the tube is necessary for improved overall performance due to the inefficient heat transfer between the internal mass stream in an empty tube and the wall.…”