Assessment of gas permeability through porous skeletal media with anisotropic internal structure

¹ Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Renewable Energy Department, Biskupińska Street 67, 60-463 Poznań, Poland
² Opole University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Process Engineering, Mikołajczyka Street 5, 45-271 Opole, Poland

^* Corresponding author: g.filipczak@po.opole.pl

Abstract

The results of experimental studies in the field of gas permeability of porous materials referring to gas flow have been shown. Coal chars with anisotropic porous-slotted structure have been tested. The studies have been carried out on a special test bench that allows for the measurement of gas permeability in terms of three flow orientations related to symmetrical specimens in the cubic form. The results of the measurements indicate that there is a considerable effect of the flow directivity on the permeability of carbonizers, which results from their integral anisotropic structure. A permeability coefficient for such materials has been defined and the experimental assessment of the value of this coefficient against gas flow and the total pressure drop on a porous medium has been made. The usefulness of computation methods characterising the hydrodynamics of gas flow through porous materials has been made, and the possibility of a numerical mapping of the flow geometry of solid materials with tortuous structure has been indicated.