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Article
Report number	arXiv:2306.03699
Title	Numerical and experimental study of open-cell foams for the characterization of heat exchangers
Author(s)	Amatriain, Aitor (CERN ; Madrid, Polytechnic U.) ; Gargiulo, Corrado (CERN) ; Rubio, Gonzalo (Madrid, Polytechnic U.)
Publication	2023-09-22
Imprint	2023-06-06
Number of pages	11
In:	Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 217 (2023) 124701
DOI	10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2023.124701
Subject category	physics.flu-dyn ; Other Fields of Physics
Project	CERN-EP-RDET
Abstract	A multiscale model of open-cell foams is developed for the characterization of heat exchangers. The model is applicable to a wide range of materials, cell sizes, and porosities. The microscopic geometry is based on a periodic model that is defined by the porosity and the specific surface area of the foam considered. The representative geometrical scales of the model are validated with microscope images and computed tomography scans. The outputs of the microscopic model are the coefficients of the parabolic pressure loss curve, the thermal conductivity, and the Nusselt number. These values are used as inputs of the macroscopic model that determines the thermal performance of a macroscopic system. The results given by the models are compared with experimental data obtained from the literature, and from an experimental setup built at CERN. It is concluded that the multiscale model provides accurate results in all open-cell foams considered.
Copyright/License	preprint: (License: arXiv nonexclusive-distrib 1.0) publication: © 2023-2025 The Author(s) (License: CC-BY-4.0)

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