Thermo-hydraulic characteristics of TiO2-water nanofluids in thin-wall stainless steel test tubes (corrugated tube and circular tube) filled with copper foam (40 PPI) are experimentally investigated and compared with those in test tubes without copper foam. The effects of nanoparticle mass concentration on flow and heat transfer performances are investigated. In addition, the mutual restriction relationships between Reynolds number (Re), Nusselt number (Nu) and resistance coefficient (f) are discussed respectively. Also, the comprehensive coefficient of performance (CCP) between heat transfer and pressure drop is evaluated. The results show that core-enhancement region for heat transfer using experimental tubes filled with copper foam is notably different from that of tubes without copper foam. There is a corresponding Reynolds number (about Re = 2400) for the maximum CCP of each condition. And the heat transfer can be enhanced dramatically and sustained at 8000 <= Re <= 12000. (C) 2018 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.