Numerical Simulation of Flow Past Multiple Porous Cylinders

Abstract

The present study numerically investigates two-dimensional laminar flow past three circular porous cylinders arranged in an in-line array. Six approaches to face velocity (Vi/Vf) ratios are used and particle trajectories are computed for a range of velocities and particle diameters. Furthermore, the flow past a solid cylinder, which had similar geometry characteristics to the porous cylinders used in this study, is compared with the flow around multiple porous cylinders. For the same range of Reynolds number (312–520), the flow behavior around the solid cylinder differs from the flow around the porous cylinders. The flow characteristics around solid cylinders are determined by the Reynolds number, whereas the flow characteristics around the porous cylinders are detrained by the Vi/Vf ratio. Stagnation areas are found behind each porous cylinder, and the size of these areas increases as the Vi/Vf velocity ratio increases. Furthermore, for the particle ranges used in power plants (<50 μm), the particles were uniformly distributed around the surface of the porous cylinders.