Efficient numerical modeling of liquid infusion into a porous medium partitioned by impermeable perforated interlayers

Date
2022-11-02
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering
Abstract
Numerical modeling of flow through porous media and the simulation of liquid flow through orifices, channels and perforated walls, membranes, interlayers find applications in various fields. However, the mesh refinement needed to describe the detail at the scale of orifices within a domain multiple orders of magnitude larger raises numerical challenges. The present work proposes a pragmatic solution to model perforated layers partitioning a large porous media domain using 1D elements to model the holes and connect the 3D elements which represent the porous media. As an illustration, the approach is applied in liquid composite molding processes, and to the processing of large thick panels toughened with perforated interlayers. However, this work could be adopted in numerous fields. The combination of 3D and 1D elements to manage components with different dimensions has been used before, however no proper analysis of the loss of accuracy introduced has been conducted to our knowledge. A systematic parametric study is conducted to quantify the impact of the length of the domain, the number of interlayers, the diameter of the holes and the viscosity of the fluid on the loss of accuracy. Meshing rules and directions are provided to improve the accuracy of the simulations.
Description
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Moretti, L, Simacek, P, Advani, SG. Efficient numerical modeling of liquid infusion into a porous medium partitioned by impermeable perforated interlayers. Int J Numer Methods Eng. 2022; 1- 18. doi:10.1002/nme.7161, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.7161. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited. This article will be embargoed until 11/02/2023.
Keywords
flow through porous media, finite elements, liquid composite molding
Citation
Moretti, L, Simacek, P, Advani, SG. Efficient numerical modeling of liquid infusion into a porous medium partitioned by impermeable perforated interlayers. Int J Numer Methods Eng. 2022; 1- 18. doi:10.1002/nme.7161