Comparative research of flow in tube bundle: Source term method and pressure drop method

Abstract

There are two methods for calculating fluid in porous materials, namely the pressure drop method (PDM) and the source term method (STM), which are widely utilized in their respective fields. Although in principle, the two methods can be applied interchangeably in each other's fields under certain conditions, this situation is extremely rare. This paper conducts a comparative study from various aspects to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each method. From a comparison of mathematical equations, PDM does not have the momentum equation, resulting in lower computational costs and better computational performance. From the simulation results of single porous media, STM has more sources of error, and the error in PDM mainly originates from the fitting method. Except for low Reynolds numbers, PDM is generally superior to STM. Both methods yield consistent results when the flow field is uniform. From the perspective of the coupling between porous media and pure fluid, STM captures flow details better. At low Reynolds numbers, STM's computation results are closer to experimental results. While at high Reynolds numbers, PDM aligns better with experimental results. Theoretically, PDM has higher computational efficiency, but it is difficult to achieve efficient coupling with the momentum equation. The computational efficiency of both methods is usually almost the same. In summary, both methods have their advantages and can be employed interchangeably under some conditions to achieve higher computational efficiency, accuracy, and convenience.