Thermo-Hydrodynamic Performance Evaluation of a Mini-Channel Inserted With TPMS-Based Porous Lattice

Abstract

The coupled pore-scale and Darcy-scale numerical simulations are used in this work to investigate heat transport and hydrodynamic characteristics within a porous channel constructed by using a primitive lattice based on triply-periodic-minimal-surface. The pore-scale simulation is used in void subdomain, whereas the microporous-solid subdomain is simulated by Darcy-scale simulation for a range of mass transfer rates 4 × 10−7 to 2 × 10−3 kg/s (corresponding Reynolds numbers 0.1 < Re < 500). The liquid-water (Pr = 7) is used as the working fluid. The Darcy number and inertial drag coefficient are calculated using the pressure drop in the channel along with the heat transfer coefficient (Nusselt number) on both internal and external walls. The quantifiable deviation from local thermal equilibrium (LTE) is also established. The results reveal two distinct, namely passive and active regimes, depending upon the permeability of the microporous-solid subdomain. It is found that the Nusselt number is almost constant for permeability values Kμ < 10−11 m2(passive regime). However, significant variation is observed in the Nu for higher value of permeability Kμ ≥ 10−11 m2(active regime). The Darcy number and effective Nusselt number are found to be increasing, while the inertial drag coefficient and deviation from LTE are found to be decreasing with the permeability in the active regime only.