The recent developments in the energy and process industries have lead to moreefficient, higher-temperature processes and compact equipment. By using small features such asmicro-channels, pin fins or plate fins the length scale for which transport occurs is minimized andthus increases the heat transfer. By integrating high-thermal conductivity ceramic foams intothese compact heat exchanger designs, even greater benefits of reduced hydraulic diametersand increased surface areas can be realized in environmentally durable, structurally strongmaterials. In this paper we will discuss several design configurations coupled with the inherentproperties of preferred ceramic materials to assess the effects of foam pore size and overallporosity. These foams have been laminated into micro-channel assemblies and co-fired intomonolithic devices for operational testing. The interfacial thermal-contact resistances between theporous foams and the dense films were eliminated by a co-firing process. Within these studieshydrodynamic and heat transfer models were used to predict the performance and viability of nextgeneration high temperature heat exchangers.
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