Numerical Analysis on Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer in Nanofluids at Pore Length Scale in Open Metal Porous Structures with Kelvin Cells

In this paper, a numerical investigation in metal porous structures with Kelvin cell model is carried out on water/Al2O3 nanofluids using the single-phase model. The examined foams are characterized by a porosity of 0.95 and different values of cells per inch (CPI), equal to 10 and 20 CPI. Three different values of Al2O3 nanoparticle volume concentrations equal to 0, 2 and 4% are used. Results are presented and discussed in terms of pressure drop between the inlet and outlet sections. Furthermore, it has been possible to obtain a correlation used to find the value of permeability and drag coefficient for metal porous structures under investigation. It has been possible to notice how these two properties of the foam do not depend on the type of fluid but only on the geometric properties. In addition, the interfacial heat transfer coefficient between the fluid phase and the solid matrix has been estimated. In conclusion, the results in terms of Nusselt number as a function of Reynolds number based on the struct diameter show that it does not change varying the CPI values.