THERMAL BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS OF OPEN-CELL METAL FOAMS MANUFACTURED BY RAPID TOOLING

International audience; This study focuses on the methodology of periodic open-cell composite foams manufacturing by rapid tooling as well as the thermal analysis of the obtained structure. A bimaterial is prepared by introducing a phase change material (paraffin wax) into metal foam. The aim is to provide a structural bimaterial to study its thermal behavior for energy storage and achieve an adapted geometry with the help of rapid tooling by three-dimensional printing (3DP). Concretely, the bimaterial melting process is experimentally studied in order to determine thermal behavior. The temperature variations and distributions of the bimaterial are analyzed and compared with the results of pure paraffin. Moreover, the effect of natural convection is analyzed and discussed. The results show that the periodic open-cell metal foam could be a potential solution to the problem of storage and recovery of energy.