Development of a Multi-Dimensional Parallel Solver for Full-Scale DPF Modeling in OpenFOAM ^® 2009-01-1965

A new fast and efficient parallel numerical solver for reacting and compressible flows through porous media has been developed in the OpenFOAM^® (Open Field Operation and Manipulation) CFD Toolbox. With respect to the macroscopic model for porous media originally available in OpenFOAM^®, a different mathematical approach has been followed: the new implemented solver makes use of the physical normal components resulting from the velocity expansion in the unit orthogonal vector basis to compute the Darcy pressure drop across the porous medium. Also, an additional sink term to account for the increased flow friction over the porous wall has been included into the momentum equation. In the new solver, the pressure correction equation is still able to achieve a faster convergency at very low permeability of the medium, also when it is associated with grid non-orthogonality.

The new solver has been used for the multidimensional simulation of the hydrodynamics of full-scale wall-flow Diesel Particulate Filters. Validation has been performed against the experimental data coming from the published literature.