Numerical analysis of the pressure drop in porous media flow with lattice Boltzmann (BGK) automata Original Research Article

The lattice Boltzmann (LB) method is used for a detailed study on the origins of the pressure drop in porous media flow. In agreement with the experimental results [Durst et al., J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 22 (1987) 169] it is shown, that the elongation and the contraction of fluid elements is an important factor for the pressure loss in porous media flow, and that a significant error is made, when only shear forces are taken into account. To obtain the geometry information of the porous media for our simulations, we used the 3D computer tomography technique.