Hydrodynamics and Convective Heat Transfer in Open Cell Foam with Micropores

Abstract

Open cell metal foams are promising materials for increasing heat transfer due to their tortuosity and developed surface area in car engine cooling. A new method of heat transfer intensification in open cell foam materials is proposed. The effect of micropores on the hydrodynamics and heat transfer of open cell foam material is studied. Three models of porous media were created. In the first case, the initial model with a porosity of 0.7. In the second, with the addition of micropores, the porosity became equal to 0.85. Thirdly, the porosity is 0.85, but without micropores. A micropore model was created by subtracting spheres from the framework of open cell foam. In all cases, the porous medium consists of many intersecting spheres. Numerical modelling of gas flow and heat transfer in a porous medium is performed by the control volume method in the ANSYS Fluent software package (v. 19.0) Research results can help create new types of heat exchangers.