Droplet retention time and pressure drop in SiSiC open-cell foams used as droplet separation devices – A numerical approach


Droplet retention time and pressure drop in SiSiC open-cell foams used as droplet separation devices – A numerical approach

Hernandez, J. N. C.; Lecrivain, G.; Schubert, M.; Hampel, U.

Open-cell foams are a promising alternative for the separation of liquid droplets suspended in gas flows at comparably low pressure drop. The separation in such ceramic foams is investigated using the residence time distribution of droplets derived from pore-scale CFD-simulations. 20 and 45 pores per inch (ppi) silicon-infiltrated silicon carbide (SiSiC) open-cell foams samples are considered. The foam structure was reconstructed from micro-computed tomography (µCT) images. To track the droplets, a Lagrangian discrete-phase model was used. The effect of pore size and pore density on the droplet retention time was studied. The flow pressure drop showed a remarkable agreement with the in-house experimental measurements. The droplet separation efficiency within the foam structure was found to generally increase with the inlet gas velocity and the droplet inertia.

Keywords: Ceramic foams; liquid droplet entrainment; gas-droplet flow; resolved pore-scale CFD simulations; droplet residence time; droplet separator device

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Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-29635
Publ.-Id: 29635