| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/T24364/01 |
| Title: |
Two-Phase Flow & Heat Transfer in Ultra-Light metal Foams |
| Principal Investigator: |
Zhao, Dr CY |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Department: |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Organisation: |
Brunel University London |
| Scheme: |
First Grant Scheme Pre-FEC |
| Starts: |
01 February 2005 |
Ends: |
31 January 2007 |
Value (£): |
122,886
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The proposed research aims to study the characteristics of convective boiling heat transfer in ultra-light cellular metal foams in an attempt to use metal foams as a compact and highly efficient heat transfer medium in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems to improve their thermal efficiency. Recent developments in processing technology have led to a range of novel lightweight materials for structural, thermal, acoustic and other engineering applications. Amongst these, high porosity (void volume percentage), open-celled metal foams have emerged as one of the most promising materials for thermal management applications where a large amount of heat needs to be transported over a small volume. The motivation is attributed to the high surface area to volume ratio (2000 - 5000 m2/m3) as well as enhanced flow mixing (convection) due to the tortuosity of the foam. Development of metal-foam two-phase heat exchangers requires a comprehensive fundamental understanding of the evaporation/boiling and condensation heat transfer mechanisms. In the proposed research, the flow resistance and evaporation/boiling heat transfer in metal foams will be measured at different heat fluxes and mass flow rates. The effect of microstructure on boiling heat transfer will also be experimentally studied by varying the metal-foam cell size and porosity, and an optimum porosity that maximizes the heat transfer per unit pumping power will be identified. In addition, microstructure-based empirical correlations for pressure drop and heat transfer that can capture the most important characteristics of heat transfer in metal foams due to forced convection across the cells, phase change, and conduction along cell ligaments will be formulated. This will enable the performance of metal foam tubes to be compared with that of standard and small diameter tubes commonly used in the design of refrigeration and HVAC heat exchangers. The work will pave the way for the development of highly efficient and compact heat exchangers for refrigeration and other HVAC applications.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.brunel.ac.uk |