Numerical Analysis of Packed Bed Structure and the Flow Pressure Drop Using 3D Computer Tomography and Reconstruction Technology

It is known that flow pressure drop in porous media highly depends on the microstructure of solid matrix. Porous structure formed by packed particles, the effect of which on flow pressure drop behavior has been investigated by a series of numerical simulation methods. At the same time, the geometry information of the porous media for the simulations can be obtained by use of the 3D computer tomography and reconstruction technology. Otsu algorithm is introduced to handle the binary edges of the gray, while Amira for generation computing grid. The simulations are in a quite reasonable agreement with the available experimental results, and some further features are also explored. The elongation and the contraction of fluid elements are essential factors for the pressure loss in porous media flow, and the surface friction of micro-channels and the inertial and viscous resistance of the porous media plays important roles in increasing the pressure drop. The value of predicted pressure drop is in a qualitative accordence with the experimental results obtained in previous investigation.