SIMULATION OF FLOW-THROUGH BEAD PACKS USING THE LATTICE BOLTZMANN METHOD

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is used to simulate viscous fluid f low through a column of glass beads. The results suggest that the norm alized velocity distribution is sensitive to the spatial resolution bu t not the details of the packing. With increasing spatial resolution, simulation results converge to a velocity distribution with a sharp pe ak near zero. A simple argument is presented to explain this result. C hanges in the shape of the distribution as a function of flow rate are determined for low Reynolds numbers, and the large-velocity tail of t he distribution is shown to depend on the packing geometry. The effect of a finite Reynolds number on the apparent permeability is demonstra ted and discussed in relation to previous results in the literature. C omparison with velocity distributions from NMR (nuclear magnetic reson ance) spectroscopy finds qualitative agreement after adjusting for dif fusion effects in the NMR distributions, (C) 1998 American Institute o f Physics.