Setting Up a Porous Condition

To add a porous condition to simulate filters and packed beds:
  1. Click the Fluid Flow dropdown menu in the ribbon of the Simulation tab and choose Porous.
  2. Select one or more bodies to represent the location of the porous medium (such as a filter or packed bed). Use Ctrl + click to select multiple bodies.
    If your model contains named selections, click Advanced filters and use Link named selections to choose one from the list.
    If using a bidirectional or orthotropic media, the face connected to the inlet is considered normal to the streamwise direction. You can use the Direction tool in the HUD (or Alt-select) to set the streamwise direction by selecting a face, edge, plane, line, or axis.
  3. Optionally, in the right side of the HUD, include thermal effects in the porous medium and switch to a thermal flow simulation. If thermal effects are included, the porosity and material properties of the solid material must be specified under Solid Properties in the options panel.
  4. Specify the viscous and inertial resistance coefficients in the options panel. If Directionality is set to Bidirectional or Orthotropic, specify the streamwise and crossflow viscous and inertial resistance coefficients. For conical or cylindrical orthotropic media, you will need to specify the radial, circumferential, and tangential resistance coefficients.
    Tip:
    • Use Isotropic if the porous loss coefficients are the same in all directions. Porous media such as packed beds are typically isotropic.
    • Use Bidirectional if the porous loss coefficients are specified in the streamwise and crossflow directions. Filters and perforated plates are often porous media that are dependent on direction. Bidirectional is also used for cylindrical or conical filters.
    • Use Orthotropic for filters where the porous loss is different in all three directions.
  5. Press Enter or click Accept to complete the setup.
    For bidirectional and orthotropic porous media, markers will be displayed on the model corresponding to the streamwise and crossflow resistance coefficients you specified. If a cylindrical or conical face is selected to set the direction, the markers will reflect that set of resistance coefficients.