A Novel Prediction Model for Thermal Conductivity of Open Microporous Metal Foam Based on Resonance Enhancement Mechanisms

Anqi Chen, Jialong Chai, Xiaohan Ren, Mingdong Li, Haiyan Yu () and Guilong Wang ()
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Anqi Chen: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Jialong Chai: Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Xiaohan Ren: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Mingdong Li: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Haiyan Yu: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Guilong Wang: Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: Microporous metal materials have promising applications in the high-temperature industry for their high heat exchange efficiency. However, due to their complex internal structure, analyzing the heat transfer mechanisms presents a great challenge. This I confirm work introduces a mathematical model to accurately calculate the radiative thermal conductivity of microporous open-cell metal materials. The finite element and lattice Boltzmann methods were employed to calculate the thermal conduction and thermal radiation conductivities separately and validated for aluminum foams, with the relative errors all less than 9.3%. The results show that the thermal conductivity of microporous metal materials mainly increased with an increase in temperature and volume-specific surface area but decreased with an increase in porosity. Analysis of the spectral radiation characteristics shows that the surface plasmon polariton resonance and the magnetic polariton resonance appearing at the gas–solid interface of the metal foam significantly increase the dissipation effect of the gas–solid interface, further reducing the metal foam’s heat transfer efficiency. This indicates the potential of this work for use in the design of specific microporous metal materials like energy management devices or heat transfer exchangers in the aerospace industry.

Keywords: microscale radiation; effective thermal conductivity; electromagnetic effects; porous material; energy management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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