Modeling of porous filter penneability via image-based stochastic reconstruction of spatial porosity correlations

A methodology for producing a pore-scale, 3D computational model of porous filter permeability is developed that is based on the analysis of 2D images of the filter matrix and first principles. The computationally reconstructed porous filter model retains statistical details of porosity and the spatial correlations of porosity within the filter and can be used to calculate permeability for either isotropic or 1D anisotropic porous filters. In the isotropic case, validation of the methodology was conducted using 0.2 and 0.8 microm ceramic membrane filters,forwhich it is shown that the image-based computational models provide a viable statistical reproduction of actual porosity characteristics. It is also shown that these models can predict water flux directly from first principles with deviations from experimental measurements in the range of experimental error. In the anisotropic case, validation of the methodology was conducted using a natural river sand filter. For this case, it is shown that the methodology yields predictions of filtration velocity that are similar or better than predictions offered by existing filtration models. It was found for the sand filter that the deviation between observation and prediction was mostly due to swelling during the preparation of the sand filter for imaging and can be reduced significantly using alternative methods reported in the literature. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that the computational reconstruction methodology is valid for porous filter modeling, and given that it captures pore-scale details, it has potential application to the investigation of permeability decline underthe influence of pore-scale fouling mechanisms.