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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2011
The development of a multifunctional, micron-scaled, reticulated copper foam that reliably exhibits high intrinsic thermal conductivity, efficient capillary fluid and evaporative transport over a wide area presents a unique challenge. In this work, the relationship of critical foam processing variables such as sintering temperature and template size on the pore size distribution and pore neck/body ratio is investigated using image analysis. The resulting fluid permeability values of these foams are estimated by using the Kozeny Carman equation and the porosity, surface area per unit area and tortuosity obtained through image analysis. Estimating the fluid permeability of these foams is useful for predicting the mass and heat transfer within the porous network, and provides a metric for optimizing the foam’s structural characteristics for a particular application.