Abilities of porous materials for energy saving in advanced thermal systems

Using materials with porous natures to enhance the thermal efficiency of various thermal systems has attracted much attention. This is owing to the low cost, light weight, and great features of these materials to improvement in the thermal efficiency of thermal systems. In addition, using porous materials, as a passive method, does not consume any external energy. Increasing thermal efficiencies of different thermal systems by using these materials is related to many factors including the kind of thermal system, position of insert, porosity, thermal conductivity, thickness, and nature of these materials. This paper aims to perform a comprehensive review on the application of different materials with porous structures in different thermal systems such as heat pipes, thermosyphons, electronic cooling modules, boiling systems, phase change materials, etc. In addition, a brief discussion is presented about the application of porous model to simulate fluid flow and heat transfer in plate-fin heat exchangers.