Turbulent effects on fluid flow through disordered porous media

The influence of turbulent effects on a fluid flow through a (pseudo) porous media is studied by numerically solving the set of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the κ–ε model for turbulence. The spatial domains are two-dimensional rectangular grids with different porosities obtained by the random placing of rigid obstacles. The objective of the simulations is to access the behavior of the generalized friction factor with varying Reynolds number. A good agreement with the Forchheimer's equation is observed. The flow distribution at both low and high Reynolds conditions is also analyzed.