A Comparison of Thermal Dispersion Behaviour in High-Conductivity Porous Media of Various Pore Geometries

摘要

The effect of pore geometry on the axial thermal dispersion conductivity for high-conductivity porous media under general thermal non-equilibrium conditions is studied numerically. Pore geometries including arrays of inline square and circular cylinders, staggered circular cylinders, and a three-dimensional idealization of a graphite foam pore geometry are used to study the effects of the solid constituent shape and arrangement, as well as the effect of a relatively complex three-dimensional pore structure. Results indicate that in general, the dispersion conductivity cannot be considered a simple function of the Peclet number due to the effects of inertia, which cause the dispersion behaviour to depend on both the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. On the basis of the current results, it is recommended that the influences of the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers be considered separately when generating models for the dispersion conductivity.