FlowDict
FlowDict computes digital flow experiments and post-processes the results to calculate effective material properties such as permeability.
In general, three different use cases are possible:
Determine effective bulk material properties
In this use case, you start with a 3D structure model of a porous material, e.g. a rock, a composite, or a foam. The model shows a representative inner part of the material, but the real material is much larger in all three space directions.
You can use FlowDict to determine the effective permeability of the material.
For this purpose, use the Stokes command if the major through-pores are resolved in the voxel grid, or the Darcy Flow command if all through-pores are unresolved.
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Determine pressure drop and flow rate
In this use case, you start with a 3D structure model of a porous layer, e.g., a nonwoven filter, a porous transport layer, or a metal wire mesh. The model shows the entire layer thickness, plus some inflow and outflow area above and below the layer.
You can use FlowDict to
- predict the volumetric flow rate and mean flow velocity for a given pressure drop, or
- predict the pressure drop for a given mean flow velocity or volumetric flow rate.
For this purpose, use the Navier-Stokes command to prescribe the boundary conditions, compute the stationary flow field, and determine the result. For very high flow velocities, the solution may become turbulent and a stationary solution no longer exists. In this situation, you can use the Forchheimer Approximation command to extrapolate a result.
You can also use the Air Permeability Test app to simulate standardized air permeability tests with predefined test setups.
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Simulate fluid flow in CAD data
In this use case, you start with a 3D structure model of, e.g., a complete filter including the filter housing or a packed bed reactor including casing and pipes. The 3D structure is typically designed with CAD software tools, and the inner pore structure of the porous medium is often unresolved.
You can use FlowDict to
- predict the volumetric flow rate for a given pressure drop, or
- predict the pressure drop for a given volumetric flow rate.
For this purpose, use the Simulate Flow Experiment command to prescribe the boundary conditions, compute the stationary flow field and determine the result.
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In the FlowDict section, the available commands are listed in the pull-down menu.
When clicking Estimate Memory, FlowDict estimates the needed memory for the computations based on the size of the structure and the parameters entered in the solver options. The estimated computational memory requirements are shown in a Memory & Disk-Space pop-up message.
