Sustainable Energy and Artificial Intelligence

Metal Foams, Nanofluids, and Phase change Material for Enhanced Heat Transfer and Thermal Energy Storage: A Multiscale Review

Document Type : Review Articles

Authors

Reza Rabani
Javad Ghavanini
Saeed Shoroei

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ka.C., Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.66224/seai.2601-1038
Abstract
Over the past decade, the development of advanced heating, cooling, and thermal energy storage systems has increasingly focused on innovative solutions such as nanofluids, metal foams and phase change materials (PCMs). Through the coordinated use of complementary experimental and modeling approaches. This project systematically assessed the degree of heat transfer and overall thermal performance enhancement achievable in heat exchangers and thermal energy storage systems by integrating nanofluids, metal foams, and PCMs. This article provides an overview of the main aspects of this comprehensive research activity. Particular attention is devoted to the comparison between mesoscopic and macroscopic heat transfer modeling in metal foams and nanofluids, as well as to the experimental datasets acquired and analyzed throughout the research program. Overall, this multiscale review indicates that the combined use of metal foams, nanofluids, and phase change materials can effectively enhance heat transfer characteristics and thermal energy storage performance, while also highlighting the remaining modeling and practical challenges associated with their implementation in engineering systems.

Keywords

phase change materials
thermal energy storage
heat transfer enhancement
micro computed tomography (µ
CT)
local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE)
Subjects
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Sustainable Energy and Artificial Intelligence
Volume 2, Issue 2
Spring 2026
Pages 89-106

  • Receive Date 02 January 2026
  • Revise Date 04 February 2026
  • Accept Date 16 February 2026
  • First Publish Date 16 February 2026

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