Studio sperimentale e numerico della termofluidodinamica in schiume metalliche ad alta porosità

In modern days, there is a significant amount of excessive heat energy from various sources like electronics, data centers, and industrial facilities are produced. It is necessary to extract heat from electronics devices for safety and reliability. Furthermore, capturing and reusing excessive thermal energy is crucial for energy efficiency. This necessitates the development of highly efficient thermal management solutions and compact heat exchangers. This thesis presents a comprehensive experimental as well as numerical analysis of heat transfer in high porosity porous media particularly metal foam (MF) to address this critical challenge. Porous media, with its unique tortuous structure, high surface area-to-volume ratio, are emerging as superior candidates for enhanced heat dissipation and recovery applications. This study specifically investigates the influence of diverse foam structural parameters such as: Pores Per Inch (PPI) and porosity, along with variations in geometry and fluid flow conditions, on the overall heat transfer characteristics. The research methodology systematically explores the interdependencies between these factors, moving beyond simple parametric studies to establish design guidelines for optimal thermal performance. The findings of this research offer valuable suggestions for the effective cooling of electronic devices utilizing MF with impinging jet flows (IJF), where high heat fluxes demand compact and robust heat sink solutions. The results show that a higher PPI improves heat transfer but also increases pressure drop significantly. The study also finds that the level of porosity has a complex effect, influencing both heat conduction and how easily fluid can flow. Furthermore, the study proposes the utilization of porous structure-based compact heat exchangers (CHX) for the effective absorption and potential reuse of wasted, untreated heat from industrial and commercial facilities. By optimizing the foam structure and flow characteristics, this thesis demonstrates a significant pathway toward improved energy efficiency, enhanced system reliability in thermal management systems. In summary, this thesis offers practical design suggestions for using metal foams. They can be used as efficient heat sinks to cool electronics or in heat exchangers to recover waste heat. The findings contribute to the development of more effective and sustainable thermal management systems.