Advances on modeling and applications of turbulent flow, heat and mass transport in porous media

Abstract

Engineering equipment design and environmental impact analyses can benefit from proper and more accurate modeling of turbulent transport in porous media. Several natural and engineering systems can be seen as porous structures through which a working fluid permeates. Turbulence models proposed for such flows depend on the order of application of time and volume average operators. Two methodologies, following the two orders of integration, lead to different governing equations for the statistical quantities. The concept of double-decomposition is discussed and models are classified in terms of the order of application of time and volume averaging operators, among other peculiarities. For hybrid media, involving both a finite porous structure and a clear flow region, difficulties arise due to the proper mathematical treatment given at the interface. This paper presents and discusses numerical solutions for such hybrid medium. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.

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