Modeling Turbulent Flows in Porous Media

Abstract

Turbulent flows in porous media occur in a wide variety of applications, from catalysis in packed beds to heat exchange in nuclear reactor vessels. In this review, we summarize the current state of the literature on methods to model such flows. We focus on a range of Reynolds numbers, covering the inertial regime through the asymptotic turbulent regime. The review emphasizes both numerical modeling and the development of averaged (spatially filtered) balances over representative volumes of media. For modeling the pore scale, we examine the recent literature on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models, large-eddy simulation (LES) models, and direct numerical simulations (DNS). We focus on the role of DNS and discuss how spatially averaged models might be closed using data computed from DNS simulations. A Darcy–Forchheimer-type law is derived, and a prior computation of the permeability and Forchheimer coefficient is presented and compared with existing data.