Comprehensive Study of 3D Liquid Flow Fields in Additive Manufactured Structures for SMART Reactors Using Large-Scale Vertical Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computational Fluid Dynamics

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Merbach, Timo, Adrian, Muhammad, Wigger, Christoph, Houssaini, Selma Iraqi, Bayer, Benedict, Tsanda, Artyom, Acikgöz, Serhan, Weiland, Christian, Kexel, Felix, Herzog, Dirk, Hoffmann, Marko, Kelbassa, Ingomar, Knopp, Tobias, Penn, Alexander, Schlüter, Michael
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866911437698367488
author Merbach, Timo
Adrian, Muhammad
Wigger, Christoph
Houssaini, Selma Iraqi
Bayer, Benedict
Tsanda, Artyom
Acikgöz, Serhan
Weiland, Christian
Kexel, Felix
Herzog, Dirk
Hoffmann, Marko
Kelbassa, Ingomar
Knopp, Tobias
Penn, Alexander
Schlüter, Michael
author_facet Merbach, Timo
Adrian, Muhammad
Wigger, Christoph
Houssaini, Selma Iraqi
Bayer, Benedict
Tsanda, Artyom
Acikgöz, Serhan
Weiland, Christian
Kexel, Felix
Herzog, Dirk
Hoffmann, Marko
Kelbassa, Ingomar
Knopp, Tobias
Penn, Alexander
Schlüter, Michael
contents Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures have emerged as a new class of porous materials with variable geometries and favourable transport properties, making them promising for reactor internals in chemical engineering. However, experimental data on internal TPMS flow behaviour are still limited. To address this gap, the flow behaviour in additively manufactured TPMS structures is analysed using three-dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) velocimetry in a large-bore vertical 3 T MRI system, in cylindrical columns of 38 mm diameter and Reynolds numbers between 50 and 300. Three different TPMS geometries are investigated, and consistency between Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimentally measured MRI velocity fields is established through cross-validation. The MRI system provides fully three-dimensional velocity fields with a divergence deviation below 6 %. MRI revealed distinct flow features: the Gyroid TPnS exhibited pronounced channelling, while the Schwarz-Diamond TPSf showed merge-split behaviour, achieving a 46 % increase in lateral mixing compared to the Gyroid TPnS structures. Numerical simulations reproduce the flow features and show agreement with the MRI data. The combined methodology demonstrates the suitability of MRI velocimetry for the experimental validation of CFD simulations and establishes a robust foundation for future studies of heat and mass transfer, as well as reactive flow, in structured reactor systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_09750
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Comprehensive Study of 3D Liquid Flow Fields in Additive Manufactured Structures for SMART Reactors Using Large-Scale Vertical Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computational Fluid Dynamics
Merbach, Timo
Adrian, Muhammad
Wigger, Christoph
Houssaini, Selma Iraqi
Bayer, Benedict
Tsanda, Artyom
Acikgöz, Serhan
Weiland, Christian
Kexel, Felix
Herzog, Dirk
Hoffmann, Marko
Kelbassa, Ingomar
Knopp, Tobias
Penn, Alexander
Schlüter, Michael
Fluid Dynamics
Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures have emerged as a new class of porous materials with variable geometries and favourable transport properties, making them promising for reactor internals in chemical engineering. However, experimental data on internal TPMS flow behaviour are still limited. To address this gap, the flow behaviour in additively manufactured TPMS structures is analysed using three-dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) velocimetry in a large-bore vertical 3 T MRI system, in cylindrical columns of 38 mm diameter and Reynolds numbers between 50 and 300. Three different TPMS geometries are investigated, and consistency between Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimentally measured MRI velocity fields is established through cross-validation. The MRI system provides fully three-dimensional velocity fields with a divergence deviation below 6 %. MRI revealed distinct flow features: the Gyroid TPnS exhibited pronounced channelling, while the Schwarz-Diamond TPSf showed merge-split behaviour, achieving a 46 % increase in lateral mixing compared to the Gyroid TPnS structures. Numerical simulations reproduce the flow features and show agreement with the MRI data. The combined methodology demonstrates the suitability of MRI velocimetry for the experimental validation of CFD simulations and establishes a robust foundation for future studies of heat and mass transfer, as well as reactive flow, in structured reactor systems.
title Comprehensive Study of 3D Liquid Flow Fields in Additive Manufactured Structures for SMART Reactors Using Large-Scale Vertical Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computational Fluid Dynamics
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09750