Numerical computation of pressure drop by slow flow through micropacked bed reactors

Single-phase flow through a packed bed of spherical particles for micro-structured reactors was examined numerically by solving the particle-scale equations governing the flow. The drag acting on spheres and, hence, the pressure drop across the micropacked bed were determined for random arrays of spheres, from dilute to highly dense concentrations. These numerical simulation results were compared with the experimental results obtained previously. It is shown that the simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results for the pressure drop across a micropacked bed by a fluid flow.