Investigation of flow through triply periodic minimal surface-structured porous media using MRI and CFD. (15th February 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Clarke, Daniel A.; Dolamore, Fabian; Fee, Conan J.; Galvosas, Petrik; Holland, Daniel J.
• Is Part Of: Chemical engineering science. Volume 231(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-02-15
• Subjects: Porous media -- 3D-printing -- Magnetic resonance imaging -- Computational fluid dynamics -- Triply periodic minimal surface; Chemical engineering -- Periodicals; Génie chimique -- Périodiques; Chemical engineering; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 660
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2020.116264
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-2509

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: Flow through a 3D-printed TPMS-structured column measured using MRI and CFD. Transition in flow behaviour occurs between Reynolds numbers of 1 and 18. CFD simulation results agree favourably with MRI. TPMS-structured column suppresses flow channelling phenomenon. Abstract: Advances in additive manufacturing technology are making ordered porous media, such as those based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS), increasingly feasible alternatives to random porous media for applications ranging from chromatography to heat exchange. Process performance in these applications is controlled by the flow characteristics within the channels. In this work, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to study flow through a Schwarz Diamond TPMS column for Reynolds numbers up to 30. The CFD simulations were in good quantitative agreement with the MRI experiments. The velocity images illustrate a transition from creeping flow to inertial flow. The inertial flow regime exhibits flow splitting in each channel, where recombination depends on the extent of inertia. These results demonstrate that MRI and CFD are both suitable techniques for understanding the mechanisms underlying reported enhanced transfer performance (e.g. low axial dispersion) in TPMS devices.