Experimental investigation of boiling heat transfer in horizontal tube partially filled with metal-foam

In this work, the boiling flow heat transfer in horizontal metal-foam partially filled tubes is experimentally studied using HFC134a. The effect of mass flow rate, vapor quality, and operation pressure on flow resistance, and two phase heat transfer coefficient are investigated. The two phase flow and heat transfer performance are compared with conventional smooth tube. It is revealed that the boiling heat transfer can be enhanced by increasing vapor quality for high mass flow rates more significantly than in the case of low mass flow rates. The facts are due to different flow patterns occurred inside the metal-foam tubes. The flow pattern can be predicted by monitoring the cross-sectional wall surface temperatures.