The effect of open-cell metal foams strut shape on convection heat transfer and pressure drop

Results are presented in terms of convection heat transfer coefficients and pressure distributions as a function of strut shape parameters. The comparison between predictions for ideal and real foams, for different strut shapes, confirms that, in all cases, the closer the form of the ideal strut to that of the real strut the better the agreement among predictions. It is also pointed out that the convection heat transfer coefficient is maximized when, at equal porosity, the ligament shape is convex, while a concave strut shape maximizes the pressure drop.