Heat transfer performance of porous titanium

Abstract

Porous titanium fibre materials with different structural parameters were prepared by vacuum sintering method. The thickness, porosity and wire diameter of prepared materials were investigated to understand the effects of structural parameters on pool heat transmission performance of titanium fibre porous material. As a result, better heat transfer performance is obtained when overheating is less than 10 °C. In addition, when the wire diameter is smaller, the heat transfer is better. However, when superheating is above 10 °C, heat transfer performance can be improved by increasing the wire diameter. Moreover, thickness influences the superficial area of the prepared material and affects the thermal resistance when bubbles move inside the material; superficial area and thermal resistance are the two key factors that jointly impact the heat transfer in relation to the thickness of the materials. Experimental results also show that the materials of 3 mm in thickness exhibit the best performance for heat transmission. Furthermore, changes in porosity affect the nucleation site density and the resistance to bubble detachment; however, the nucleation site density and the resistance to bubble detachment conflict with each other. In summary, the titanium fibre porous material with a 50% porosity exhibits suitable heat transfer performance.