Numerical study on maximizing heat transfer and minimizing flow resistance behavior of metal foams owing to their structural properties

Various Trade-Off Scenarios in Thermo-Hydrodynamic Performance of Metal Foams Due to Variations in Their Thickness and Structural Conditions

“…Heat transfer features of the metal foams of considered pore density and porosity combinations with varying thickness condition are shown in Figure 6, in terms of average wall heat transfer coefficient, and in Figure 7, in terms of wall average wall Nusselt number. It can be observed that for any given thickness scenario, the average wall heat transfer coefficient increases with upsurge in pore density for a considered porosity condition as a result of augmented interfacial area density participating in improved heat transfer [12]. Similarly, for a given pore density condition in any thickness scenario considered, the wall heat transfer coefficient is observed to increase with an increase in porosity due to enhanced interfacial heat transfer coefficient as a result of increased fluid volume .…”

“…Similarly, for a given pore density condition in any thickness scenario considered, the wall heat transfer coefficient is observed to increase with an increase in porosity due to enhanced interfacial heat transfer coefficient as a result of increased fluid volume . This is primarily due to the increased fluid to solid ratio with the increase in porosity enabling more fluid to participate in the heat transfer [12]. It can be seen that the wall heat transfer coefficient increases greatly with an increase in pore density for a given porosity condition compared to the increase in the same coefficient with an upsurge in porosity for a given PPI condition.…”

“…The obtained numerical domain mainly constitutes a heater close to a solid plate of aluminum that faces inward into the channel passage accommodating the foam sample. Evaluation of the required flow and heat transfer influencing properties appearing in the governing equations are estimated as provided in [12,18].…”

“…Hence, it is crucial to analyze the thermo-hydraulic behavior of metal foams with both flow resistance and heat transfer enhancement. Several factors that influence flow and heat transfer through metal foam include material aspects (thermal conductivity [11]), structural aspects (porosity and pore density [12]), configurational aspects (thickness [11,13] and partial filling [14,15]), the foam geometrical aspect (shape [16]), and the arrangement aspect (foam multi-layer [17]), etc. It is interesting to note that different combinations of these aspects result in varied pressure drop and heat transfer, thus allowing a better trade-off between enhanced heat transfer with the accompanied increased pressure drop.…”

“…In the previous studies [12,18], the influence of structural aspects (PPI and porosity) on varied flow resistance and thermal transmission behaviors was illustrated, highlighting the optimum selection of foam samples based on their structural aspects for a desired thermo-hydraulic performance. However, it is interesting to analyze the thermo-hydraulic performance of metal foams subjected to further accompanied variable conditions such as varied thickness scenarios.…”