A thermal lattice Boltzmann model is developed for the melting process of phase change material (PCM) embedded in open-cell metal foams. Natural convection in the melt PCM is considered. Under the condition of local t...A thermal lattice Boltzmann model is developed for the melting process of phase change material (PCM) embedded in open-cell metal foams. Natural convection in the melt PCM is considered. Under the condition of local thermal non-equilibrium between the metal matrix and PCM, two evolution equations of temperature distribution function are pre-sented through selecting an equilibrium distribution function and a nonlinear source term properly. The enthalpy-based method is employed to copy with phase change problem. Melting process in a cavity of the metal foams is simulated using the present model. The melting front locations and the temperature distributions in the metal foams filled with PCM are obtained by the lattice Boltzmann method. The effects of the porosity and pore size on the melting are also investigated and discussed. The re-sults indicate that the effects of foam porosity play important roles in the overall heat transfer. For the lower porosity foams, the melting rate is comparatively greater than the higher porosity foams, due to greater heat conduction from metal foam with high heat conductivity. The foam pore size has a limited effect on the melting rate due to two counteracting effects between conduction and convection heat transfer.展开更多
Over the past few years a number of low cost metallic foams have been produced and used as the core of sandwich panels and net shaped parts.The main aim is to develop lightweight structures which are stiff,strong,able...Over the past few years a number of low cost metallic foams have been produced and used as the core of sandwich panels and net shaped parts.The main aim is to develop lightweight structures which are stiff,strong,able to absorb large amount of energy and cheap for application in the transport and construction industries.For example,the firewall between the engine and passenger compartment of an automobile must have adequate mechanical strength,good energy and sound absorbing properties,and adequate fire retardance.Metal foams provide all of these features,and are under serious consideration for this applications by a number of au- tomobile manufacturers(e.g.,BMW and Audi).Additional specialized applications for foam-cored sandwich panels range from heat sinks for electronic devices to crash barriers for automobiles,from the construction panels in lifts on aircraft carriers to the luggage containers of aircraft,from sound proofing walls along railway tracks and highways to acoustic absorbers in lean premixed combustion chambers.But there is a problem.Before metallic foams can find a widespread application,their basic properties must be measured,and ideally modeled as a function of microstructural details,in order to be included in a design.This work aims at reviewing the recent progress and presenting some new results on fundamental research regarding the mi- cromechanical origins of the mechanical,thermal,and acoustic properties of metallic foams.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No 50776015)the National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the Eleventh Five-year Plan Period of China (Grant No 2008BAJ13B04)
文摘A thermal lattice Boltzmann model is developed for the melting process of phase change material (PCM) embedded in open-cell metal foams. Natural convection in the melt PCM is considered. Under the condition of local thermal non-equilibrium between the metal matrix and PCM, two evolution equations of temperature distribution function are pre-sented through selecting an equilibrium distribution function and a nonlinear source term properly. The enthalpy-based method is employed to copy with phase change problem. Melting process in a cavity of the metal foams is simulated using the present model. The melting front locations and the temperature distributions in the metal foams filled with PCM are obtained by the lattice Boltzmann method. The effects of the porosity and pore size on the melting are also investigated and discussed. The re-sults indicate that the effects of foam porosity play important roles in the overall heat transfer. For the lower porosity foams, the melting rate is comparatively greater than the higher porosity foams, due to greater heat conduction from metal foam with high heat conductivity. The foam pore size has a limited effect on the melting rate due to two counteracting effects between conduction and convection heat transfer.
文摘Over the past few years a number of low cost metallic foams have been produced and used as the core of sandwich panels and net shaped parts.The main aim is to develop lightweight structures which are stiff,strong,able to absorb large amount of energy and cheap for application in the transport and construction industries.For example,the firewall between the engine and passenger compartment of an automobile must have adequate mechanical strength,good energy and sound absorbing properties,and adequate fire retardance.Metal foams provide all of these features,and are under serious consideration for this applications by a number of au- tomobile manufacturers(e.g.,BMW and Audi).Additional specialized applications for foam-cored sandwich panels range from heat sinks for electronic devices to crash barriers for automobiles,from the construction panels in lifts on aircraft carriers to the luggage containers of aircraft,from sound proofing walls along railway tracks and highways to acoustic absorbers in lean premixed combustion chambers.But there is a problem.Before metallic foams can find a widespread application,their basic properties must be measured,and ideally modeled as a function of microstructural details,in order to be included in a design.This work aims at reviewing the recent progress and presenting some new results on fundamental research regarding the mi- cromechanical origins of the mechanical,thermal,and acoustic properties of metallic foams.
