Comparison of forced convective heat transfer between pillar and real foam structure under high Reynolds number

Owing to the complex structure of open-cell foam, Kelvin cell have been widely used to represent foam structures in recent years. In this study, Kelvin cells (pillar model) with different porosities (90%, 95%) and cells per inch (CPI) values (11, 21, 32), as well as foam structures with different porosities (87%, 90%) and 20 pores per inch, were fabricated to investigate forced convective heat transfer in metal foams using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A comparison between the pillar model and foam structures showed that they had similar changing rule in pressure drops, although the pillar model exhibited 49.2% better comprehensive heat-transfer properties at 90 m/s. The transverse area of the throat and the microstructure of the skeleton had a significant effect on the pressure drop. The heat-transfer behavior can be improved by increasing the CPI and optimizing the joints of the pillar model. Furthermore, the area goodness factors of pillar model with the 95% porosity and 32 CPI is 78.7% better than model with 90% porosity and 11 CPI. Optimization of the transverse area of the throat and the shapes of the skeleton and joints is a potential method for improving the comprehensive heat-transfer performance of Kelvin cells.

Automated summary

This study investigates forced convective heat transfer in metal foams using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with Kelvin cells and foam structures of different porosities and cells per inch values. The results show that factors like throat area and microstructure significantly impact pressure drop, and heat transfer behavior can be improved by increasing pores per inch and optimizing joint connections in the Kelvin cells. Optimization of throat area and skeleton shape is a potential method for enhancing comprehensive heat-transfer performance in Kelvin cells.