Analytical quantification of coefficients in the Ergun equation for fluid friction in a packed bed

A new analytical derivation for momentum transport during laminar flow through granular porous media is discussed and some of its implied results described. In the very low Reynolds number regime fully developed laminar flow is assumed and in the higher laminar Reynolds number regime the Forchheimer (non-Darcy) effect is modelled through reference to form drag induced by the solid constituents of the porous medium. The results are compared to the Ergun equation, which is empirically based on experimental measurements, and the correspondence is shown to be remarkably close.     

Mathematical modelling of flow through consolidated isotropic porous media

A new mathematical model is proposed for time-independent laminar flow through a rigid isotropic and consolidated porous medium of spatially varying porosity. The model is based upon volumetric averaging concepts. Explicit assumptions regarding the mean geometric properties of the porous microstructure lead to a relationship between tortuosity and porosity. Microscopic inertial effects are introduced through consideration of flow development within the pores. A momentum transport equation is derived in terms of the fluid properties, the porous medium porosity and a characteristic length of the microstructure. In the limiting cases of porosity unity and zero, the model yields the required Navier-Stokes equation for free flow and no flow in a solid, respectively.     

An Eulerian model for the motion of granular material with a large Stokes number in fluid flow

This study introduced a novel Euler–Euler approach for modeling granular multiphase flow. The motion of particles with a large Stokes number was investigated assuming that granular material has unilateral compressibility. Solid pressure in the momentum equations for granular multiphase flow was determined so that the unilateral incompressibility condition was satisfied. Using the continuity condition of the granular phase, the equation was rewritten in the optimal form to calculate the solid pressure. A discrete formulation of smoothed particle hydrodynamics was applied for the convective terms so that the discrete matrix was positive semidefinite for the convergence and the discretization for an unstructured mesh was allowed. Frictional stress was then determined from solid pressure and, by using the solid pressure and frictional stress, momentum equations for the granular phase were solved. The method was incorporated into ANSYS FLUENT by a UDF (user defined function). Model validation was performed through a comparison with two previous results, and efficacy of the proposed model was confirmed.     

SPH-based numerical treatment of the interfacial interaction of flow with porous media

In this paper, the macroscopic equations of mass and momentum are developed and discretized based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) formulation for the interaction at an interface of flow with porous media. The theoretical background of flow through porous media is investigated to highlight the key constraints that should be satisfied, particularly at the interface between the porous media flow and the overlying free flow. The study aims to investigate the derivation of the porous flow equations, computation of the porosity, and treatment of the interfacial boundary layer. It addresses weak assumptions that are commonly adopted for interfacial flow simulation in particle-based methods. As support to the theoretical analysis, a two-dimensional weakly compressible SPH model is developed based on the proposed interfacial treatment. The equations in this model are written in terms of the intrinsic averages and in the Lagrangian form. The effect of particle volume change due to the spatial change of porosity is taken into account, and the extra stress terms in the momentum equation are approximated by using Ergun's equation and the subparticle scale model to represent the drag and turbulence effects, respectively. Four benchmark test cases covering a range of flow scenarios are simulated to examine the influence of the porous boundary on the internal, interface, and external flows. The capacity of the modified SPH model to predict velocity distributions and water surface behavior is fully examined with a focus on the flow conditions at the interfacial boundary between the overlying free flow and the underlying porous media.     

A segregated implicit solution algorithm for 2D and 3D laminar incompressible flows

A segregated algorithm for the solution of laminar incompressible, two- and three-dimensional flow problems is presented. This algorithm employs the successive solution of the momentum and continuity equations by means of a decoupled implicit solution method. The inversion of the coefficient matrix which is common for all momentum equations is carried out through an approximate factorization in upper and lower triangular matrices. The divergence-free velocity constraint is satisfied by formulating and solving a pressure correction equation. For the latter a combined application of a preconditioning technique and a Krylov subspace method is employed and proved more effecient than the approximate factorization method. The method exhibits a monotonic convergence, it is not costly in CPU time per iteration and provides accurate solutions which are independent of the underrelaxation parameter used in the momentum equations. Results are presented in two- and three-dimensional flow problems.     

L 1 Convergence to the Barenblatt Solution for Compressible Euler Equations with Damping

We study the asymptotic behavior of compressible isentropic flow through a porous medium when the initial mass is finite. The model system is the compressible Euler equation with frictional damping. As t ?? ??, the density is conjectured to obey the well-known porous medium equation and the momentum is expected to be formulated by Darcy??s law. In this paper, we prove that any L ^?? weak entropy solution to the Cauchy problem of damped Euler equations with finite initial mass converges strongly in the natural L ¹ topology with decay rates to the Barenblatt profile of the porous medium equation. The density function tends to the Barenblatt solution of the porous medium equation while the momentum is described by Darcy??s law. The results are achieved through a comprehensive entropy analysis, capturing the dissipative character of the problem.     

A Kinetic Approach to the Plane Poiseuille Flow Over a Porous Matrix

The Poiseuille–Couette gas flow in a channel and the gas flow through an adjacent porous medium are considered when the governing equations are obtained via a molecular kinetic approach based on the Boltzmann equation. The mass continuity, momentum balance and energy conservation are written for the gas in the contiguous regions, whereas the behavior of the solid matrix obeys to the heat diffusion equation. Two different space scalings lead to different forms of the equations for the steady flow through the fully saturated matrix. The boundary conditions at the interface between the two domains are investigated via a matching procedure.     

MODELLING OF BYPASS TRANSITION WITH CONDITIONED NAVIER–STOKES EQUATIONS COUPLED TO AN INTERMITTENCY TRANSPORT EQUATION

A differential method is proposed to simulate bypass transition. The intermittency in the transition zone is taken into account by conditioned averages. These are averages taken during the fraction of time the flow is turbulent or laminar respectively. Starting from the Navier–Stokes equations, conditioned continuity, momentum and energy equations are derived for the laminar and turbulent parts of the intermittent flow. The turbulence is described by a classical k−ϵ model. The supplementary parameter, the intermittency factor, is determined by a transport equation applicable for zero, favourable and adverse pressure gradients. Results for these pressure gradients are given.     

MHD forced convection boundary layer flow with a flat plate and porous substrate

The flow and heat transfer for an electrically conducting fluid with a porous substrate and a flat plate under the influence of magnetic field is considered. The magnetic field is assumed to be uniform and also along normal to the surface. The momentum and energy equations are transformed to ordinary differential equations by using suitable similarity transformation and are solved by standard techniques. But the energy equation is solved by considering two boundary layers, one in the porous substrate and the other above the porous substrate. Numerical results are presented through graphs with various values of magnetic parameter for both velocity and thermal boundary layers along with Nusselt number and for various values of Prandtl number and Eckert number in thermal boundary layer.     

Free-convection between vertical walls partially filled with porous medium

This paper presents an analytical study of laminar fully developed free-convection flow between two vertical walls partially filled with porous matrix and partially with a clear fluid having interface vertically. The momentum transfer in porous medium is described by the Brinkman-extended Darcy model and the two regions are coupled by equating the velocity and shear stress at the interface. The governing equations having non-linear nature have been solved by using perturbation method. It has been found that effect of Brinkman term is in entire porous domain for large values of Darcy number while its effect is confined nearer to interface and wall for small values of Darcy number. Received on 19 March 1997     

Approximate Analytical Solutions for Flow of a Third-Grade Fluid Through a Parallel-Plate Channel Filled with a Porous Medium

The flow of a non-Newtonian fluid through a porous media in between two parallel plates at different temperatures is considered. The governing momentum equation of third-grade fluid with modified Darcy’s law and energy equation have been derived. Approximate analytical solutions of momentum and energy equations are obtained by using perturbation techniques. Constant viscosity, Reynold’s model viscosity, and Vogel’s model viscosity cases are treated separately. The criteria for validity of approximate solutions are derived. A numerical residual error analysis is performed for the solutions. Within the validity range, analytical and numerical solutions are in good agreement.     

Effects of chemical reaction on mixed convection flow of a polar fluid through a porous medium in the presence of internal heat generation

This paper reports a detailed numerical investigation on mixed convection flow of a polar fluid through a porous medium due to the combined effects of thermal and mass diffusion. The energy equation accounts for heat generation or absorption, while the nth order homogeneous chemical reaction between the fluid and the diffusing species is included in the mass diffusion equation. The governing equations of the linear momentum, angular momentum, energy and concentration are obtained in a non-similar form by introducing a suitable group of transformations. The final set of non-similar coupled non-linear partial differential equations is solved using an implicit finite-difference scheme in combination with quasi-linearization technique. The effects of various parameters on the velocity, angular velocity, temperature and concentration fields are investigated. Numerical results for the skin friction coefficient, wall stress of angular velocity, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are also presented.     

Accurate 3D viscous incompressible flow calculations with the FEM

A second-order-accurate (in both time and space) formulation is developed and implemented for solution of the three-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations involving high-Reynolds-number flows past complex configurations. For stabilization, only a fourth-order-accurate artificial dissipation term in the momentum equations is used. The finite element method (FEM) with an explicit time-marching scheme based on two-fractional-step integration is used for solution of the momentum equations. The element-by-element (EBE) technique is employed for solution of the auxiliary potential function equation in order to ease the memory requirements for matrix. The cubic cavity problem, the laminar flow past a sphere at various Reynolds numbers and the flow around the fuselage of a helicopter are successfully solved. Comparison of the results with the low-order solutions indicates that the flow details are depicted clearly even with coarse grids. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow instability in a curved porous channel formed by two concentric cylindrical surfaces

Stability of laminar flow in a curved channel formed by two concentric cylindrical surfaces is investigated. The channel is occupied by a fluid saturated porous medium; the flow in the channel is driven by a constant azimuthal pressure gradient. The momentum equation takes into account two drag terms: the Darcy term that describes friction between the fluid and the porous matrix, and the Brinkman term, which allows imposing the no-slip boundary condition at the channel walls. An analytical solution for the basic flow velocity is obtained. Numerical analysis is carried out using the collocation method to investigate the onset of instability leading to the development of a secondary motion in the form of toroidal vortices. The dependence of the critical Dean number on porosity and the channel width is analyzed.     

Using a segregated finite element scheme to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

In this paper, a segregated finite element scheme for the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is proposed which is simpler in form than previously reported formulations. A pressure correction equation is derived from the momentum and continuity equations, and equal-order interpolation is used for both the velocity components and pressure. Algorithms such as this have been known to lead to checkerboard pressure oscillations; however, the pressure correction equation of this scheme should not produce these oscillations. The method is applied to several laminar flow situations, and details of the methods used to achieve converged solutions are given.     

Theoretical derivation of the conservation equations for single phase flow in porous media: a continuum approach

This paper deals with the theoretical derivation of the conservation equations for single phase flow in a porous medium. The derivation is obtained within the framework of the continuum mechanics and classical thermodynamics. The adopted procedure provides the conservation equations of mass, momentum, mechanical energy, total energy, internal energy, entropy, temperature, enthalpy, Gibbs free energy and Helmholtz free energy. The obtained results highlight the connection between the basic equations of fluid mechanics and of fluid flow in porous media, as well as the restrictions and the limitations of Darcy’s law and Richards’ equation.     

Reduction in drag and vortex shedding frequency through porous sheath around a circular cylinder

A numerical study on the laminar vortex shedding and wake flow due to a porous‐wrapped solid circular cylinder has been made in this paper. The cylinder is horizontally placed, and is subjected to a uniform cross flow. The aim is to control the vortex shedding and drag force through a thin porous wrapper around a solid cylinder. The flow field is investigated for a wide range of Reynolds number in the laminar regime. The flow in the porous zone is governed by the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer extended model and the Navier–Stokes equations in the fluid region. A control volume approach is adopted for computation of the governing equations along with a second‐order upwind scheme, which is used to discretize the convective terms inside the fluid region. The inclusion of a thin porous wrapper produces a significant reduction in drag and damps the oscillation compared with a solid cylinder. Dependence of Strouhal number and drag coefficient on porous layer thickness at different Reynolds number is analyzed. The dependence of Strouhal number and drag on the permeability of the medium is also examined. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of governing mass and momentum balances following an abrupt pressure impact in a porous medium

A mathematical model is developed of an abrupt pressure impact applied to a compressible fluid flowing through a porous medium domain. Nondimensional forms of the macroscopic fluid mass and momentum balance equations yield two new scalar numbers relating storage change to pressure rise. A sequence of four reduced forms of mass and momentum balance equations are shown to be associated with a sequence of four time periods following the onset of a pressure change. At the very first time period, pressure is proven to be distributed uniformly within the affected domain. During the second time interval, the momentum balance equation conforms to a wave form. The behavior during the third time period is governed by the averaged Navier-Stokes equation. After a long time, the fourth period is dominated by a momentum balance similar to Brinkman's equation which may convert to Darcy's equation when friction at the solid-fluid interface dominates.     

Flow through a porous annulus

Summary The problem of laminar flow through a porous annulus with constant velocity of suction at the walls and with swirl is reduced to the solution of four non-linear differential equations. The significance of each of these equations is discussed. By taking the swirl to be zero series solutions are obtained for (i) small suction or blowing (ii) when the total flow into the channel through the walls is small. Finally the asymptotic behaviour of the flow for large suction or blowing is discussed.     

A Helmholtz pressure equation method for the calculation of unsteady incompressibl eviscous flows

A time-implicit numerical method for solving unsteady incompressible viscous flow problems is introduced. The method is based on introducing intermediate compressibility into a projection scheme to obtain a Helmholtz equation for a pressure-type variable. The intermediate compressibility increases the diagonal dominance of the discretized pressure equation so that the Helmholtz pressure equation is relatively easy to solve numerically. The Helmholtz pressure equation provides an iterative method for satisfying the continuity equation for time-implicit Navier–Stokes algorithms. An iterative scheme is used to simultaneously satisfy, within a given tolerance, the velocity divergence-free condition and momentum equations at each time step. Collocated primitive variables on a non-staggered finite difference mesh are used. The method is applied to an unsteady Taylor problem and unsteady laminar flow past a circular cylinder.