The application of flow and heat transfer through porous media is widely spread in many scientific and engineering fields. In this paper, we combine Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) with finite difference method to simulate the process of flow and heat transfer in random porous medium based on pore scale. The 2D geometric models of pore structure with different structural characteristics were generated by the quartet structure generation set (QSGS) and the generation algorithm of random granular porous media. The numerical simulation is conducted to investigate the effects of pressure drop, porosity and pore structure on fluid flow and heat transfer in porous media. The detailed distribution of velocity and temperature in complex pore space was obtained and presented visually. The results show that the increase of pressure drop will enhance the fluid transmission rate and heat transfer rate in porous media; due to the random distribution of pore structure, there is no obvious law between the flow and heat transfer rate and porosity in porous media; the complexity of pore structure leads to the complexity of the flow and heat transfer mechanism in porous media. The numerical method established in this work provides a promising approach to study pore-scale flow and heat transfer in complex porous structures.
Porous media exist widely in nature, such as rock, soil, sponge, blood vessel, foam metal, etc. The pores of most porous media are non-uniform distribution, with strong randomness and the pore size ranges from nanometer to millimeter. Therefore, the characteristics of flow and heat transfer through porous media are very complex, which are affected not only by the physical parameters such as fluid density, viscosity, thermal conductivity and dynamic parameters such as fluid pressure and temperature, but also by the geometric parameters such as pore size and distribution.
