Numerical investigation of pressure drop and heat transfer through open cell foams with 3D Laguerre-Voronoi model

•This work reviews the theoretical background of pressure drop for open cell foams.•Pressure drop was investigated on aluminum foams of a broad range of properties.•This work compares simulation result with theoretical predictions and experiments.•The heat transfer coefficients and friction factors of foams were evaluated. This work reviews the theoretical backgrounds of pressure drop prediction for open cell foams. The pressure drop of open cell foams was investigated on aluminum foam structures of pore densities 10–50ppi and porosities 70–95%, with the commercial CFD analysis package: ANSYS Fluent, and performed over flow velocities ranging from 0.5m/s to 20m/s. The 3D foam structures were created by Laguerre-Voronoi tessellations. The numerical results for pressure drop were compared with the theoretical predictions by Inayat et al. and experimental data in the literature. The results show that the pressure drop of foams increases with increasing pore density and decreasing porosity. The numerical results are consistent with theoretical predictions and experimental data. The computed interfacial heat transfer coefficient was investigated. The Nusselt number increases with increasing Reynolds number, and increases with increasing porosity at constant pore density. The friction factor of foams was also evaluated.