A New Formulation for Prediction of Permeability of Nano Porous Structures using Lattice Botzmann Method

Abstract

The standard lattice Boltzmann equation, LBE, is inadequate for simulating gas flows in nano scale flows with Knudsen numbers higher than 0.1. In the present study, rarefied gas flow in nano porous structures is simulated using the modified Lattice Boltzmann Method, LBM, which is able to cover wide range of flow regimes. The present study, reports the effects of the Knudsen number and porosity on the flow rate and permeability in slip and transitional flow regimes. For the first time, the Knudsen’s minimum effect in micro/nano porous was observed. A new correlation between the permeability, the porosity and the Knudsen number is then proposed which is able to predict the permeability of in-line and staggered nano porous structures in slip and transitional regimes.

Keywords

• Lattice Boltzmann method; Nanoscale flow; Porous media; Transitional flow regime.