Volumetric measurement of a Newtonian fluid flow through three-dimensional porous media using Lagrangian particle tracking (Shake-the-Box) technique

Abstract

This work experimentally investigates the pressure-driven flow of a pure Newtonian fluid through three-dimensional (3D) porous media models. The porous media model consists of square arrays of rods that also could be interpreted as a periodic tandem rod arrangement. We employed a time-resolved three-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry (3D Shake-the-Box) technique for a range of Reynolds numbers 111 ≤ R e ≤ 890 to observe flow structures and vortex formation between the rods in porous media structures with different porosities of ε = 0.7 ,   0.8 ,   and   0.9 , which corresponds to the spacing ratio of L D = 1.75 ,   2 ,   and   3, where L is the distance between the centers of the rods, and D is the diameter of the rods. For all the examined cases, we further analyzed the effect of the Reynolds number and the spacing ratio on the instantaneous and averaged patterns of velocity, vorticity, and the other flow parameters after obtaining the two-dimensional velocity fields using the bin-averaging method. We observed both symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns of structure and recirculation regions between the rods depending on the Reynolds number and spacing ratio. Increasing the Reynolds number reduced the symmetrical patterns of flow structures with respect to the centerline of the gap region, while the spacing ratio was randomly affecting the symmetry degree. Vortex shedding was considerable for the two examined high Reynolds numbers of Re = 444 and Re = 890 behind the upstream rod as the porosity increased. The backward movement of the reattachment point has been observed by increasing the Reynolds number.