Characterization of the permeability and the thermal conductivity of graded sintered open-cell metallic foams

Abstract

Metal foams with a gradation in one direction are fabricated and local material properties are determined. The local topology is determined via X-ray tomography. The homogenised thermal conductivity is measured using a Transient Plane Source Technique, also known as HotDisk, and the permeability is measured with a pressure drop experiment. The measurements are done at different positions along the gradation. The experiments demonstrate that the topology of metal foams can be varied within the same foam sample and that properties of the foams like permeability and thermal conductance change accordingly.