On the scatter of experiments done with open-cell metal foam in open literature

This paper reviews the available methods to study thermal applications with open-cell metal foam. For experimental research, the focus is on the repeatability of the experiments. Especially for open-cell metal foam, this is a major concern. Most published studies only report porosity and the number of pores per linear inch (PPI-value). In this work several points are raised why these values are not enough to characterize a three dimensional foam structure. A different approach, which is studied in this paper, is to characterize the foam using U+03BCCT scans with small voxel sizes. The results of these scans are compared with frequently used correlations from open literature to calculate parameters like surface-to-volume ratio. Large differences with the correlations are observed. It is therefore recommended that any kind of experimental work using open-cell metal foam reports a proper geometrical characterization in order that one can repeat the experiments.

ISBN:978-1-77592-124-0

Accessibility:Closed