Experimental Studies on Friction Factor and Heat Transfer Characteristics Through Wire-Woven Bulk Kagome Structure

Abstract

Periodic cellular metals with open, periodic cell topologies have received much attention owing to their potential for multi-functionality such as load bearing, thermal dissipation, and actuation. Recently, a new technique, known as wire-woven bulk Kagome, has been introduced, which is used for fabricating multi-layered Kagome with truss periodic cellular metal. The fabrication of the wire-woven bulk Kagome is based on a concept where continuous helical wires are systematically assembled in six directions. Besides its excellent load-bearing capability with light weight, the wire-woven bulk Kagome has potential for a heat dissipation media because of the high ratio of surface area to volume and low flow resistance. This article presents the experimental results of the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of the multi-layered wire-woven bulk Kagome composed of aluminum 1100 helix wires. Under forced-air convection conditions, the friction factor and heat transfer rate of the wire-woven bulk Kagome specimen were investigated for two specimen orientations. The results showed that the friction factor of the wire-woven bulk Kagome was mainly affected by the flow blockage area, and the heat transfer characteristics depended on the open-area ratio. In addition, the results were compared with other heat dissipation media (e.g., open-celled foams, woven screens, lattice-frame materials, and cast Kagome structures). The results showed that the heat transfer performance of the multi-layered aluminum wire-woven bulk Kagome competed favorably with the best heat dissipation media currently available.