Flow dynamics through cellular material based on a structure with triply periodic minimal surface

Abstract

Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS)-based cellular structures are widely adopted due to their high surface-to-volume area, superior mechanical characteristics, and adaptive properties. This paper is dedicated to deriving a new semi-empirical equation for pressure drop in TPMS-based structures (specifically Schwarz-P, Schoen I-WP, Neovius). Both numerical and experimental tests were conducted to analyze the impact of TPMS parameters on pressure drop and velocity distribution. It was determined that flow through the Schwarz-P structure exhibits a tubular flow pattern, flow through the Neovius structure demonstrates active flow mixing, and flow through the Schoen I-WP structure does not have stagnant (dead) zones. A novel semi-empirical equation was formulated to calculate pressure drop as a function of flow parameters and TPMS-based structure parameters. This equation incorporates both viscous resistance (Δp=f(v)) and kinetic energy loss (Δp=f(v2)), enabling its application for predicting pressure drop across a wide range of practically interesting operational parameters.