Numerical study and experimental measurement of permeability coefficient in fibrous porous media, considering geometric details for investigating the effect of geometric parameters

Geometric details are very influential on transfer phenomena such as fluid flow and heat transfer in porous media. But in practice, the simulation of the whole problem is not possible by taking into account these details. To overcome this limitation, one can simulate a part of the media taking into account the geometric details to study the functional parameters. In the present study, structural parameters are determined using an electron microscopy (SEM), and the suitable algorithm for determining the fibers orientation in computational domain is developed. Navier-Stokes equations with continuity assumption in a small scale is solved numerically. Here permeability coefficient considered as functional parameter. For validation, the permeability of the media is experimentally determined. Then the effect of geometric parameters was investigated. By increasing (solid volume fraction (SVF) and angles between the flow direction and the fiber axis (θ), the permeability decreased. Also, by increasing fiber diameter, the permeability increased.