Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Open Cell Aluminum Foams in Air Channel on Heat Transfer

In this study, the system created by integrating aluminum foam fins of a certain thickness with pore densities of 20 PPI in a horizontal channel in a inline arrangement was experimentally investigated. Afterwards, aluminum foam fins with different thicknesses and different pore densities were integrated into the channel and numerical analyses were performed. The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of AFFHC (Aluminum foam filled horizontal channel) were investigated. The numerical analyses carried out throughout the study were modeled by means of COMSOL Multiphysics program and this model was verified with the experimental study data carried out in the experimental system established in the laboratory environment. As a result of the investigations, it was observed that placing aluminum foam inside the channel increases the thermal performance value (η) of the system up to 3.44 times. For fin profiles with the same volume, as the thickness increases, the pressure drop increases and the Nu value also increases. However, since the increase in ΔP with increasing thickness is larger than the increase in Nu, the lowest η value is obtained for the case using the fin with the highest thickness. It is seen that the increase in the PPI ratio of the aluminum foam fins with the increase in Re in the studied range has a directly proportional effect on Nu and ΔP.