Comprehensive case study on heat transfer enhancement using micro pore metal foams: From solar collectors to thermo electric generator applications

Abstract

Open cell metal foams also called as porous substrate, are found to be one of the best contenders for enhancing the heat transfer rate, with added advantages of light weight and compact size. The unique characteristic of metal foams that distinguishes from typical solid metals has gained significant attention and finds possibilities of using it in many industrial applications. This article addresses the summary of recent research works on the enhancement of heat transfer and improvement in effective thermal conductivity by using micro pore metal foams with pore size of ≤1 mm. In addition, the article summarizes the forced convective heat transfer studies with air, water, refrigerants and nanofluids using micro pore metal foams which have not been addressed in existing literatures. Effects of porosity and pore density on heat transfer enhancement (HTE) based on experimental/numerical works are also discussed. Finally, it concludes with the applications of using metal foams in various fields and identifies the opportunities and challenges for future research.

Keywords

• Metal foam
• Heat transfer
• Forced convection
• Micro pore
• Porosity
• Pore density