Fluid-flow and endwall heat-transfer characteristics of an ultralight lattice-frame material

This paper describes an experimental study of the pressure loss and endwall heat transfer in a highly porous, ultralightweight, multifunctional lattice-frame material (LFM) subjected to forced air convection. The influence of LFM morphology on the endwall flow and heat transfer patterns in a unit cell is examined in detail. Depending on the orientation of the LFM, the pressure loss across a unit cell was found to be between about 30% and 60% of the dynamic pressure over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. For the two selected orientations, the LFM has almost the same overall heat transfer performance.