Using porous material for heat transfer enhancement in heat exchanger: Review

The increase in energy cost and energy consumption has required more effective use of energy. The problem of dissipating high heat fluxes has received much attention due to its importance in applications such as heat exchanger. The heat transfer duty of heat exchangers can be improved by heat transfer enhancement techniques. In recent years, Considerable efforts have been made to increase heat transfer rates in heat exchangers by implementing passive enhancement methods that require no direct consumption of external power. On the basis of a theoretical and experimental analysis the conclusion derived was that the best heat transfer enhancement can be reached by the use of porous material as an inexpensive technique to extend the heat transfer area, improve effective thermal conductivity, and mix fluid flow. This paper presents a brief discussion on the application of using porous media to heat exchangers by means of heat transfer enhancement.