Convective heat transfer for fluids passing through aluminum foams

This paper analyses the experimental findings within heat transfer when heating up air, water and oil streams which are passed through a duct with internal structural packing elements in the form of metal foams. Three types of aluminum foams with different cell sizes, porosity specifications and thermal conductivities were used in the study. The test data were collected and they made it possible to establish the effect of the foam geometry, properties of fluids and flow hydrodynamic conditions on the convective heat transfer process from the heating surface to the fluid flowing by (wetting) that surface. The foam was found to be involved in heat transfer to a limited extent only. Heat is predominantly transferred directly from the duct wall to a fluid, and intensity of convective heat transfer is controlled by the wall effects. The influence of foam structural parameters, like cell size and/or porosity, becomes more clearly apparent under laminar flow conditions.