Metal Foam Tube Flow Characterisation

T. Spillmann[1]
[1]CSIRO, Energy Technology, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Published in 2013

In this study the flow through a tube filled with highly porous aluminium foam of three different pore sizes is analysed using COMSOL Multiphysics® CFD Module and compared to experimentally determined pressure drop data. Analyzing the flow through an array of pores allow the deduction of characteristic flow parameters (permeability and form drag coefficient) that are utilized in a 2D-axissymmetric Forchheimer-extended Brinkman-porous-medium model to predict the flow profile and pressure drop. This combination of micro-scale flow field and macro-scale porous-medium flow calculations allows for both the investigation of driving factors such as the pore and ligament size on the characteristic parameters and the comparison to experimental findings to the impact such changes have on the pressure drop over the entire structure.