Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Pressure Drop in Periodic Open Cellular Structures for Intensification of Catalytic Processes

Abstract

Periodic Open Cellular Structures are envisioned as potential enhanced catalyst substrates for heat and mass transferlimited processes. To enable their rational design, in this study, we propose a combined numerical and experimental approach to assess the pressure drop in the tetrakaidekahedral and diamond lattices since generalized correlations are not present in the literature. Deviations are observed between the model predictions available in the literature, which are possibly due to the different methods of investigation, that is, numerical on ideal geometries and experimental on reproductions. To reconcile the two approaches and prevent discrepancies, careful attention is paid here to the quality of 3D-printed replicas for experimental investigation to obtain results representative of ideal lattices. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations and experiments are then employed together to cross-validate the results and then to perform a parametric analysis of the effect of the morphological properties on the pressure drop. The effect of the cell size and the porosity are discussed, enabling the derivation of engineering correlations for the prediction of the pressure drop across the lattices within the range of 1 < Re ds < 300. Finally, the performances of lattice materials are compared with those of conventional structured supports by evaluating the trade-off between the fluid−solid mass transfer rate and the pressure drop, which is crucial for several catalytic processes. Results show that the diamond lattice outperforms other cellular materials and can outperform ceramic honeycomb monoliths at low Reynolds numbers.

In Search of an Effective Workability Zone during the 3D Printing of Polymeric Periodic Open Cellular Structures Potentially Useful as Microreactors

“…Averaging the values obtained, it can be said that in all cases there is a deviation in the printed parts that does not exceed 0.6% of the theoretical value of the diameter of the struts according to the CAD. This deviation value is comparable to that obtained by Ferroni et al [40] in their study of POCSs printed with cubic, diamond and Kelvin structures.…”

“…Therefore, its analysis can be deepened. In this regard, Ferroni et al [40] proposed the analysis of what they call open windows that allow communication between the different unit cells. In the case of the Kelvin structure, there is a square window corresponding to what we have called the "small detail zone".…”

Porous Medium Modeling of Catalytic Monoliths Using Volume Averaging

“…These channels could be of any shape, such as circular, square, or triangular cross-section, with the hydraulic diameter scriptO (1) mm and have their walls wash-coated with a catalyst. Low pressure drop, enhanced heat and mass transfer, and ease of scale-up are some characteristics that make monoliths an attractive choice. − Since their introduction in the automobile industry for exhaust after-treatment, monoliths are being explored as an alternative multiphase reactor for various chemical processes, − such as catalytic oxidation, methanation, and dehydrogenation.…”

PoroFluidics: Deterministic fluid control in porous microfluidics

“…Owing to its porous structure, multiple streams of fluids can be simultaneously achieved in a single volume, demonstrating excellent potential for the parallelization of multiple fluid channels and high interfacial areas that facilitate mixing/reaction processes 9 . Although efforts have been made to advance the fundamental understanding of the fluid transport processes in the micro-architected materials with lattice structures 4,[10][11][12] , most investigations have focused on single-phase flow. A recent notable work by Dudukovic et al 9 demonstrated the precise manipulation of multi-phase flow in the open lattice structures, where capillary-driven fluid flow along preferential pathways is achieved.…”