Abstract
A computational methodology is proposed to describe the fluid transport in compressed open- celled metallic foams. Various unit-cell foam geometries are numerically deformed under uniaxial loads using a finite element method. An algorithm is developed and implemented to deform the fluid domain mesh inside the unit-cell foam based on the deformed solid unit-cell geometry. Direct simulations of the fluid transport in these deformed meshes are then performed over a range of Reynolds numbers used in practical applications. The model is validated against available experimental results and correlations. A corrected model is proposed for the permeability of compressed foams as a function of strain for flows transverse to the direction of compression. The thermal conductivity of fluid-saturated foams is also computed. Compression of foams increases the conductivity transverse to the direction of compression and decreases the conductivity parallel to it.
Date of this Version
3-1-2008
DOI
10.1080/10407790802154173
Published in:
S. R. Annapragada, S. V. Garimella, and J. Y. Murthy, “Permeability and Thermal Transport in Compressed Open-Celled Foams,” Numerical Heat Transfer, Part B: Fundamentals Vol. 54, pp, 1-22, 2008.
Comments
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