1. Introduction
Open-cell metal foams have high porosity, permeability, thermal conductivity and surface area density. Moreover, the web-like internal structure of metal foams promotes mixing of through flowing fluids, and thus convection heat transfer. As such, metal foams are attractive for heat transfer enhancement designs. Recent information regarding manufacturing, properties and applications of metal foams can be found in [1].
Convective heat transfer can be enhanced substantially by employing oscillating (or reciprocating) flow [2] and [3]. Oscillating heat transfer in porous media occurs in many engineered systems such as heat pipes, regenerators and cooling systems of nuclear power plants. In addition to higher heat transfer rates, oscillating flow in porous media can produce another advantageous effect: a more uniform temperature distribution on heated surfaces. As such, oscillating heat-transfer designs can be used to cool modern high-speed electronic devices in order to increase reliability and operations speed. As such, heat transfer due to oscillating flow in traditional porous media (packed spheres, granular beds and mesh screens) have received some attention [4], [5], [6] and [7].
Pamuk and Özdemir [3] presented experimental heat transfer results for oscillating water flow in two sets of mono-sized packed steel balls 1 and 3 mm in diameter, with porosities 36.9% and 39.1%, respectively. The effects of frequency, flow displacement and heat input were investigated. Results were presented in terms of cycle-averaged local Nusselt number and space-cycle-averaged Nusselt number; the latter correlated well with the kinetic Reynolds number and non-dimensional flow displacement.
Transport phenomena due to oscillating flow are naturally complex; they are not very well understood [8] and have been studied numerically. Dai and Yang [7] numerically studied oscillating gas flow and heat transfer in regenerative cryocoolers using the Lattice Boltzmann Method. Pathak et al. [8] numerically studied oscillating helium flow and heat transfer in a 75%-porous medium composed of square cylinders. The Nusselt number strongly depended on flow oscillation frequency and amplitude. Significant phase lag occurred among velocity, pressure, temperature and heat transfer processes.
Metal foam is different from traditional porous media in terms of porosity (often greater than 90%) and in internal structure (widely open cells surrounded by thin solid ligaments). Indeed, there is a limited number of articles covering heat transfer due to oscillating flow in metal foam. Leong and Jin [9] experimentally investigated heat transfer due to oscillating air flow through a channel filled with aluminum foam and subjected to constant wall heat flux. The 90%-porous foam was produced by sintering and had 40 pore-per-inch (ppi). The cycle-averaged Nusselt number increased with both the kinetic Reynolds number and dimensionless amplitude of flow displacement. A correlation for the length-averaged Nusselt number as a function of these two non-dimensional parameters was provided.
In a follow up investigation, Leong and Jin [10] studied the effect of frequency on heat transfer performance of metal foam heat sinks subjected to oscillating flow of air. The aluminum foam used in the heat sinks had 10, 20 and 40 ppi. The cycle-averaged temperature decreased with increasing kinetic Reynolds number, while Nusselt number exhibited the opposite trend. In a third experiment, Leong and Jin [11] studied heat transfer of oscillating air flow in two porous channels having commercial aluminum (20 ppi) and copper (60 ppi) foams with porosities around 90%. The oscillating flow amplitude was larger than the length of the test section. The cycle-averaged wall temperature decreased with increasing Reynolds number. The cycle-averaged Nusselt number had a concave shape with a minimum at the center of the channel. Fu et al. [12] carried out experiments on heat transfer of oscillating air flow in channels filled with highly-porous commercial aluminum (40 ppi) and carbon (45 ppi) foams. The uniformity of the surface temperature in oscillating heat transfer was displayed.
As indicated by the pertinent literature summary given above, all published experimental studies concerning oscillating flow and heat transfer in porous media (including metal foam) used gas, mostly air, as the working fluid. Heat transfer due to oscillating liquid, e.g., water, flow in metal foam has never been presented. One main difference between gas and liquid flows in porous media is that dispersion is significant in the latter, while so weak that it has been ignored in the former [13]. Another difference is the length of the thermal entrance region, which depends strongly on the Prandtl number of the working fluid. Both of these matters affect oscillating heat transfer significantly.
The purpose of the current experimental study is to establish heat transfer characteristics due to oscillating water flow in open-cell metal foam. In particular, the effects of flow frequency and amplitude on heat transfer will be investigated. When possible, the results of the current study will be contrasted to those in previous studies employing air flow in similar metal foam. It is hoped that fundamental understanding of heat transfer due to oscillating liquid flow in metal foam will be enhanced by the results of this study; and that more interest in potential applications of metal foam is generated, e.g., cooling systems for high-power devices and regenerators.