We review the thermal characteristics ofall-metallic sandwich structures with two dimensional prismatic and truss cores. Results are presented based on measurements in conjunction with analytical modeling and numerical simulation. The periodic nature ofthese core structures allows derivation ofthe macroscopic quantities ofinterest-namely, the overall Nusselt number and friction factor-by means of correlations derived at the unit cell level. A fin analogy model is used to bridge length scales. Various measurements and simulations are used to examine the robustness of this approach and the limitations discussed. Topological preferences are addressed in terms scaling relations obtained with three dimensionless parameters-friction factor, Nusselt number and Reynolds number-expressed both at the panel and the cell levels. Countervailing influences oftopology on the Nusselt number and friction factor are found. Case studies are presented to illustrate that the topology preference is highly application dependent.

The deformation behaviour of two different types of aluminium alloy foam are studied under tension, compression, shear and hydrostatic pressure. Foams having closed cells are processed via batch casting, whereas foams with semi-open cells are processed by negative pressure infiltration. The influence of relative foam density, cell structure and cell orientation on the stiffness and strength of foams is studied; the deformation mechanisms are analysed by using video imaging and SEM (scanning electronic microscope). The measured dependence of stiffness and strength upon relative foam density are compared with analytical predictions. The measured stress versus strain curves along different loading paths are compared with predictions from a phenomenological constitutive model. It is found that the deformations of both types of foams are dominated by cell wall bending, attributed to various process induced imperfections in the cellualr structure. The closed cell foam is found to be isotropic, whereas the semi-open cell foam shows strong anisotropy.

Highly porous zirconia based thermal barrier coatings have recently been synthesised with zigzag morphology pores which appear to impede heat flow through the thickness of the coating. A combined analytical/numerical study of heat conduction across these microstructures is presented and compared with thermal conductivity measurements. The effects of pore volume fraction, pore type, pore orientation and pore spacing, together with the wave length and the amplitude of zig-zag pore microstructures on overall thermal performance are quantified. The results indicate that even a few volume percent of zig-zag inter-column pores oriented normal to the substrate surface reduce the overall thermal conductivity of the coatings by more than 50%.

The thermal shock resistance of a brittle solid is analysed for an orthotropic plate suddenly exposed to a convective medium of different temperature. Two types of plate are considered: (i) a plate containing a distribution of flaws such as pores, for which a stress-based fracture criterion is appropriate, and (ii) a plate containing a single dominant crack aligned with the through-thickness direction, for which a critical stress intensity factor criterion is appropriate. First, the temperature and stress histories in the plate are given for the full range of Biot number. For the case of a cold shock, the stress field is tensile near the surface of the plate and gives rise to a mode I stress intensity factor for a pre-existing crack at the surface of the plate. Alternatively, for the case of hot shock, the stress field is tensile at the centre of the plate and gives rise to a mode I stress intensity factor for a pre-existing crack at the centre of the plate. Lower bound solutions are obtained for the maximum thermal shock that the plate can sustain without catastrophic failure according to the two distinct criteria: (i) maximum local tensile stress equals the tensile strength of the solid, and (ii) maximum stress intensity factor for the pre-existing representative crack equals the fracture toughness of the solid. Merit indices of material properties are deduced, and optimal materials are selected on the basis of these criteria, for the case of a high Biot number (high surface heat transfer) and a low Biot number (low surface heat transfer). The relative merit of candidate materials depends upon the magnitude of the Biot number, and upon the choice of failure criterion. The eect of porosity on thermal shock resistance is also explored: it is predicted that the presence of porosity is gener-ally bene