The Effects of Pore Structure and Permeability on Fluid Flow Thorough Nickel Metal Foams

ABSTRACT

This paper presents results of the investigation of the fluid dynamic behavior in CVD processed nickel metal foams. First the structural characterization of CVD nickel metal foam was studied. Surface of the nickel metal foam was carefully analyzed by SEM and post image processing. Database of unit cell, ligament thickness, projected pore diameter and averaged porosity was obtained. Unit cell and projected pore diameters of CVD nickel metal foam possess Gaussian-like distribution. Characteristics of pore structure and its effect on permeability in Darcian flow regime were analyzed. Permeability, or the viscous conductivity, of the CVD processed metal foam is highly affected by the porosity and ligament thickness. An experimental facility was developed to measure the single-phase permeability in nickel metal foams in Darcian regime. Database on permeability values of seven different nickel foam samples was obtained. By defining a friction factor and the Reynolds number based on the permeability length scale a correlation was obtained for the foam permeability in Darcian flow regime. The result was compared to the correlation reported by other researchers and was in good agreement.

---

Full Text (PDF)

© 2010 Research Publishing Services