Open-cell aluminum foams filled with phase change materials as compact heat sinks

Numerical study of effective heat conductivities of foams by coupled conduction and radiation

“…Polymer foams are used as insulators [2][3][4], metal foams as compact heat exchangers [5], ceramic foams as porous burners [6,7] or solar collectors [8][9][10], carbon foams as heat exchangers [11] or electrodes [12], especially for fuel cells [13]. Carbon [14] or metal [15] foams are used as a conductive network and as mechanical reinforcement for thermal energy storage materials, in combination with phase change materials (PCM).…”

Preparation of erythritol–graphite foam phase change composite with enhanced thermal conductivity for thermal energy storage applications

“…In order to improve the heat transfer, several techniques have been already proposed for the heat transfer enhancement of PCMs which include finned tubes with different configurations [7][8][9][10], insertion of a metal matrix into the PCM [11][12][13][14], high conductivity particles dispersed with PCM [15][16][17], and micro and macro-encapsulation of the PCM [18][19][20]. Although these techniques mainly achieved to enhance the thermal transport within the PCM, more investigation is needed regarding highly cost-effective system, the chemical corrosion between the PCM and the metal matrix, minimum amount of fillers used in the PCM, and the thermal & mechanical stability of TES composites.…”

Multiscale Modeling of Multiphase Fluid Flow

“…Paek et al [198] investigated aluminum foams with different porosities and cell sizes and found that while the effective thermal conductivity is mainly affected by the porosity, the permeability is determined by both porosity and cell size. Hong and Herling [215,216] studied PCM saturated open-cell metal foam and found that the specific surface area (or surface area density) directly affects the system cooling time. They also observed that both porosity and cell size have strong influences on the thermal transport behavior.…”