Thermal Convection Measurements inside Aluminum Foam and Comparison to Existing Analytical Solutions

Metal foams have high thermal conductivity and large surface area per unit volume. The internal structure of the foams promotes vigorous mixing of a moving fluid inside the foams. As such, metal foams are very suited for convection heat transfer designs. Clear models for forced convection heat transfer inside the foam, as well as reliable thermal measurements are indispensable for convection-based thermal system designs. This paper present direct experiment for Darcy airflow and fluid's temperature inside a heated aluminum cylinder filled with aluminum foam. The experimental fluid temperature is compared to the available analytical solutions for the two-equation model for fully-developed forced convection. Peculiar, physically-unexplainable behavior is displayed when plotting the existing analytical solution in the literature. An error was discovered and corrected. Good agreement is obtained with the correct solution.