Experimental study on pressure drop in porous media

Recent technological advances in the field of additive manufacturing (AM), has made possible the fabrication of turbine components with porous media. These materials have shown great potential in cooling application such as convective cooling and transpiration cooling. Their application could substantially allow the increase of turbine inlet temperature (TIT). This study investigates the effects of the characteristic parameters of porous materials and their influence on the flow. Pressure drops in 70 selective laser melting (SLM) printed porous samples are quantified experimentally. The results, analysed in terms of discharge coefficient (C_d), shows that porosity and pore radius distribution are two key parameters for the characterization of flow through porous media. The discharge coefficient grows with the pressure ratio (Π) and for Π>1.1 the variation is almost linear. Opposite trend is registered with the thickness to diameter ratio (Λ), the discharge coefficient decrease non-linearly with Λ. A correlation is presented to predict the discharge coefficient of flow through porous media