Numerical Enhancement of Forced Convection Heat Transfer Characteristics for Skewed Wavy Channel Partially Inserted With Copper Metal Foam

ABSTRACT

In this paper, the convective heat transfer (HT) and airflow characteristics are numerically examined for skewed wavy rectangular channels inserted partially with copper metal foam. Calculations were performed using ANSYS Fluent 19.2 at the airflow with a laminar range of Reynolds number from 700 to 1700. The thermohydraulic performance (THP), friction factor (f), and average Nusselt number (Nu_avg) variation with Re for foam heights of h_mf = 0.2–0.3H and foam pore densities of 10, 20, 30 and 40 pores per inch (PPI) have been examined for the tested channels. The results indicated that partial metal foam inserts enhance temperature distribution and increase the HT rate inside the channel due to the large HT surface area, high‐thermal conductivity of copper, and increased flow resistance, which increases the velocity of the fluid passing through the heat exchange system. Also, increasing h_mf, PPI, and Re improves the HT rate in the channel, leading to an increase in both Nu_avg and f due to decreased permeability. In addition, under constant h_mf conditions, the THP exhibited a rise when the PPI and Re increased. Furthermore, at constant PPI and Re, the THP value lowers when the h_mf grows due high increase in flow restriction. At h_mf = 0.2H, 40 PPI, and Re = 1700, the THP reaches a maximum value of 1.51.