Pressure drop correlation for ceramic and metal sponges

This paper presents a correlation for estimating the pressure drop of single-phase flow inside ceramic and metal sponges (open celled-foams) based on easily available geometrical parameters. These could be the specific surface area (per unit volume), the mean cell diameter or the mean strut and window diameters of a sponge type. The correlation was derived from own experimental values using 16 different ceramic sponges. Due to its non-dimensional form, the correlation can be applied to different fluids. The pressure drop correlation was validated including more than 2500 experimental values reported by about 20 authors for nearly 100 different sponge samples. Concluding from the validation, the correlation is valid within the range of 10−1

► An Ergun-type pressure drop correlation for sponges (open-celled foams) is developed.
► Validation of the correlation for ceramic and metal sponges.
► Validation of the correlation for different fluids flowing through the sponges.
► Validity of the correlation: 0.1► Validation was done by 2500 datapoints found in literature.