A cooling device for transmission window of an accelerator based on aluminum foam with an inner heat production was investigated experimentally. Dissipation of heat flux up to 0.25 kW/cm(2) was obtained, by using porous metal with porosity of 40 pores per inch. Under these conditions, the difference between the temperatures of the wall and the bulk water did not exceed 45 K and the pressure difference per unit length was 20 bar/m. Image processing of thermal maps of the surface of the metal foam showed that boundary conditions with constant heat flux became more relevant for numerical model than those with constant temperature at high values of Reynolds numbers Re-K based on the permeability. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.