Characteristics of oscillating liquid flow in foam-like highly-porous media: An experimental study

Characteristics of oscillating water flow in open-cell metal foam were obtained experimentally. The foam had 20 pores per inch and a porosity of 87.6%. Three flow displacements 74.35, 97.2 and 111.53 mm were applied in the flow frequency range 0.116-0.696 Hz. Steady-state experiment was also conducted and the permeability and form/inertial drag coefficient were obtained. The range of flow velocity covered Darcy and Forchheimer flow regimes. The effect of flow displacement and frequency on important variables is presented and discussed. The appropriately defined friction factor correlated well with the Reynolds number for steady-state and oscillating flows, with the friction factor for oscillating flow being higher. The current results were compared to other studies from the literature employing oscillating air and water in various kinds of porous media. Some agreements and disagreements are stated and discussed.