Study on effective thermal conductivity of open metal foam

Energy conservation law and diffusion approximation approach were used to build the model to predict the effective thermal conductivity of open metal foam. The influences of temperature and pressure on the effective thermal conductivity were analyzed and the experiment to test the model was conducted by graphite heater. The results indicate that the effective thermal conductivity increases as temperature and pressure increases. The solid conductivity is the dominant part as temperature lower than 100°C, yet radiation is the dominant part when temperature higher than 400°C. Gas conductivity is negligible under the lower pressure and increases with pressure.