The role of geometry in rough wall turbulent mass transfer

We report on RANS simulations of high Schmidt number turbulent mass transfer due to a first-order reaction on the surface of a d-type rough wall. We find that for low reaction coefficients, the additional surface area of the rough wall causes an increased mass transfer in comparison with a smooth wall. However, when the reaction coefficient is high, the mass transfer becomes lower than for a smooth wall. A detailed analysis shows that the mass transport in the cavity is dominated by diffusion which becomes the limiting factor at high reaction coefficients. A conceptual model, which is in good agreement with the simulations, highlights that the influence of geometry roughness is not confined to the roughness Reynolds number for molecular-diffusion-dominated cavities.