Flow Laws in Metal Foams: Compressibility and Pore Size Effects

The aim of our experimental work was to establish a simple relation between the flow parameters and the morphological parameters of metallic foam. We used foam samples made from different metals or alloys (Cu, Ni, Ni-Cr, etc) and of various thicknesses. Pore size ranged between 500 and 5000 μm. We m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transport in porous media 2008-06, Vol.73 (2), p.233-254
Main Authors: Bonnet, Jean-Philippe, Topin, Frederic, Tadrist, Lounes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Chromium
Civil Engineering
Classical and Continuum Physics
Compressibility effects
Copper
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Engineering Sciences
Exact sciences and technology
Foamed metals
Foams
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Laws
Mathematical models
Mechanical properties and methods of testing. Rheology. Fracture mechanics. Tribology
Mechanics
Metal foams
Metals. Metallurgy
Nickel
Nickel base alloys
Parameters
Pore size
Porosity
Pressure gradients
Pressure sensors
Size effects
Stress concentration
Thermics
Working fluids
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Summary:The aim of our experimental work was to establish a simple relation between the flow parameters and the morphological parameters of metallic foam. We used foam samples made from different metals or alloys (Cu, Ni, Ni-Cr, etc) and of various thicknesses. Pore size ranged between 500 and 5000 μm. We measured the pressure profiles in foam samples using a specific experimental set-up of 12 pressure sensors distributed 1 cm apart along the main flow axis. The experimental loop made it possible to use indifferently water or air as working fluid. For the study of the gas (air) flow, velocities ranged roughly from 0 up to 20 m/s and for the liquid (water) flow, velocities ranged between 0 and 0.1 m/s. The measurements of the pressure gradients were performed systematically. We validated the Forchheimer flow model. The influence of the compressibility effects on permeability and inertia coefficient was emphasized. We demonstrated that the pore size Dp in itself is sufficient to describe flow laws in such high porosity material: K and β are respectively proportional to Dp 2 and Dp −1 .
ISSN:0169-3913
1573-1634
DOI:10.1007/s11242-007-9169-5