Numerical Investigation on Pool Boiling Mechanism of Hybrid Structures with Metal Foam and Square Column by LBM

In the present study, pool boiling heat transfer performance and bubble behaviors of hybrid structures with metal foam and square column are investigated by lattice Boltzmann method. By using the vapor-liquid phase change model of Gong-Cheng and Peng-Robinson equation of state, the effects of structural parameters, including metal foam thickness, porosity, column height and ratio of column width(W) to gap spacing(D) are investigated in details. The results show that hybrid structure performs better than pure columnar structure in pool boiling heat transfer. The hybrid structure accelerates bubble growth by fluid disturbance while metal skeletons prevent the bubble escaping. The optimum ratio of column width to gap spacing decreases with the increase of heat flux and HTC(heat transfer coefficient) can achieve an increase up to 25% when W/D change from 5/3 to 1/3. The increase of column height enhances heat transfer by expanding surface area and providing space for bubble motion. The metal foam thickness and porosity have a little influence on pool boiling heat transfer performance, but they have an important effect on bubble motion in the regime.