Experimental study of heat transfer in multi-channels of closed cell aluminum foams is investigated. The parameters of foam porosity (phi = 0, 76.78%, 84.31% and 92.53%), quantity of flow passages (N = 1, 4 and 9) and Reynolds number (Re = 1500, 3000 and 4500) are examined. The experimental results revealed that each parameter can trigger some heat transfer variations. The higher porosity induced less heat transfer; the value of the effective Nusselt number of each system was almost proportional to the square of the flow passage quantity; and the influence of Re was also very crucial. To understand the connection between the heat transfer and forced convection, Nu-Re correlations were also completed for various test conditions, providing a valuable reference for associated researchers. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.