High resolution X-ray microtomography-based CFD simulation for the characterization of flow permeability and effective thermal conductivity of aluminum metal foams

•The flow and thermal behavior of open-cell Al foams are investigated by pore level CFD.•The foam geometry was reconstructed by high resolution X-ray computed microtomography.•Estimated permeability and effective thermal conductivity are compared with literature data.•With μ-CT the limits associated to the use of simplified geometric models are overcome.

Nowadays, the need for developing more effective heat transfer technologies and innovative materials, capable of increasing performances while keeping power consumption, cost and size at reasonable levels, is well understood. Under this perspective, metal foams are gaining attention in view of their potential for increasing the thermal efficiency of heat transfer devices, while allowing the use of smaller and lighter equipments. In this work, the results of high-resolution X-ray microtomography-based CFD simulations, performed on three open-cell aluminum foams samples of different pore densities (10–20–30 PPI), will be illustrated. The computed values of permeability and effective thermal conductivity are reported and compared to the corresponding experimental values available in the literature. The flow simulations were conducted with an incompressible flow of air at steady state and in laminar flow regime (the Reynolds number, defined on the nominal pore diameter of the foam and the superficial velocity, was varied between 1 and 100).