Computational study of no-slip and rarefied slip flows in infinite structured porous media

Three dimensional numerical simulations are conducted using our hybrid FE/FV flow solver for analyzing fluid flow in infinite structured porous media. In this study, structured porous media is represented by packed beds of spherical particles in different packing configurations including Simple (SC), Body Centered Cubic (BCC), and FCC (Face Centered Cubic) arrangements. Finite contact spacing's (2% of particle diameter) are maintained between the spherical particles to avoid highly skewed elements during the grid generation process. Our results are compared with available experimental and numerical data for both continuum no-slip and also rarefied slip flows. For continuum no-slip flows, packing form of structured beds had a considerable influence on the pressure drop, particularly at higher Reynolds numbers. However, for rarefied flows, the influence of packing form seemed to be negligible. It was also observed that infinite random porous media correlations are unsuitable for predicting the friction factors and/or pressure drop in structured porous media for continuum no-slip flows. Additionally rarefaction reduces the pressure drop and impacts the friction factor correlations. Due to lack of consistent generalized correlations in structured porous media and also since continuum correlations are not applicable for rarefied flows, new improved correlations for predicting friction factors in infinite structured microporous media are proposed.