Abstract
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.
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