Open Access

ARTICLE

Convective Boiling in Metallic Foam: Experimental Analysis of the Pressure Loss

by B. Madani¹, F. Topin², L. Tadrist²

1 Corresponding author: LTPMP, FGMGP, USTHB, Algiers, Algeria, Email: bmadani@usthb.dz.
2 IUSTI, U. Provence, Marseille, France.

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2010, 6(4), 351-368. https://doi.org/10.3970/fdmp.2010.006.351

Abstract

The present work deals with the hydraulic characterization of two-phase flow with phase change in a channel filled with metallic foam. We provide a general presentation of metallic foams including morphological characteristics, fabrication processes and industrial applications. The experimental facility, which consists of a hydrodynamic loop, the test section, measurement devices, and the data acquisition system, is presented. The Metallic foam sample tested in the present work is manufactured by SCPS (French manufacturer). N-pentane is used as a coolant fluid. The mass velocity values lie between 4 and 49 kg/ m2s, while the heating power in the test section ranges from 0 to 35 W/cm2. The effect of fluid acceleration on the pressure profiles is demonstrated in the convective boiling regime. The measured pressure profiles are used to locate the thermodynamic zones inside the test channel. Then, the evolution of the pressure drop versus mass velocity is established and compared to results obtained from the application of the homogeneous model to two-phase flow.

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Keywords

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