Numerical analysis and experimental characterization of vortex flow at the gas-liquid interface in porous structure

Abstract

Due to open-cell foam materials have extensive application foreground in medium-low pressure drop reactors or reactive distillation with low liquid load operation, it has been a hot spot in this field to explore the liquid phase flow inside the pores of foam materials. The present investigation addresses the formation conditions of the vortex flow in matrix porous structure (MPS) that is made from 3D printing technology. An experimental system consisting of a high-speed camera with a macro lens and particle tracking system was used to investigate the effect of the liquid flow rate and the liquid viscosity on the vortex flow formation in MPS. The numerical analysis based on the CFD modeling was used to calculate the vortex flow behaviors and characteristics. This model is validated and compared with the results of experimental campaigns performed in MPS with the formation of stable vortex flow. It was also found that the radius and swirling velocity of the vortex can be decreased by increasing the liquid viscosity and it would be slightly affected by main flow velocity with 10mL/min – 100mL/min, which is helpful to construct the gas-liquid interface with the formation of vortex flow for realizing process intensification.