Air Flow Through Compressed and Uncompressed Aluminum Foam: Measurements and Correlations

Wind-tunnel steady-state unidirectional pressure-drop measurements for airflow through nine compressed and uncompressed isotropic open-cell aluminum foam samples, having different porosities and pore densities, were undertaken. The compressed foam produced significantly higher pressure drop, which increased with increasing Darcian velocity following the quadratic Forchheimer equation. The permeability and the inertia coefficient data for the compressed foam showed less scatter compared to those for the uncompressed foam. Both were correlated using an Ergun-like equation, with the correlation being better for the permeability. The permeability correlation predicted the results of some previous studies very well. The friction factor correlated well with the Reynolds number.