Numerical investigation of heat transfer in a sintered porous fin in a channel flow with the aim of material determination

Extended surfaces are one of the most important approaches to increase the heat transfer rate. According to the Fourier law, the heat transfer increases by increasing the contact surface of body and fluid. In this study, the effect of heat transfer has been investigated on two sets of engineered porous fins, in which the balls with different materials are sintered together. The fluid flow through the channel is considered incompressible, steady and three-dimensional. In this study, fins made of copper, aluminum and steel balls with 0.6 and 1.7 mm diameters in single-row, two-row modes are studied, and the heat transfer and pressure drop through these fins are checked. Also, the surface and volume analysis of the rigid and porous fins is also provided. In addition, the effect of diameter and material of the balls on the temperature distribution and heat transfer coefficient is examined in two cases of constant flux and constant temperature at the base. The results show that the steel fin has a different heat transfer behavior compared to other fins; the suitable material for the constant pressure and constant flux are copper and aluminum, respectively. Also, it is found that utilization of this type of connection decrease the volume of the fin about 39% of and increase the surface are about 37%.