Three-dimensional MRI and flow visualisation data are presented for single
and two-phase flow occurring within packed beds of glass spheres. The initi
al motivation for this work has been to understand the operation of fixed-b
ed reactors used in many chemical processing operations: these systems also
serve as model porous media in which to investigate the effect of the stru
cture of a pore space on the flow phenomena occurring within it. For the ca
se of single-phase flow, maps of the liquid shear rate components are calcu
lated from which forces on individual spheres within the bed are obtained.
The velocity histogram for flow transverse to the direction of superficial
flow is exponential in both negative and positive directions. This form of
the velocity histogram implies an exponential form for the displacement pro
pagator, in contrast to the Gaussian distribution obtained by pulsed gradie
nt spin echo measurements. This difference arises because the spatially res
olved velocity imaging sequence measures only the average velocity within e
ach voxel and is insensitive to the effects of incoherent (diffusive) motio
n. Visualisations of air-water flow through a sphere pack are also reported
and the capability of MRI to yield information on rivulet formation and su
rface wetting characteristics is illustrated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc
. All rights reserved.