Computational study of the fluid flow and pressure characteristics in porous media with viscosity effects via OpenFOAM

OpenFOAM, an open-source computational fluid dynamics platform running on Linux, was employed to examine how porous blockages affect fluid velocity and pressure. This research investigates the changes in velocity and pressure as fluid moves through porous structures. To model resistance within porous media, the well-established Darcy–Forchheimer equation was applied. The findings indicate that porous barriers strongly affect fluid behavior, producing significant shifts in both pressure and velocity. The study also examined how variations in fluid type and porous blockage configurations affect the mean and centerline velocities, highlighting the influence of blockage placement at different positions within the geometry. The simulation involved fluids with kinematic viscosities equivalent to those of motor oil and heavy gear oil at low temperatures (5 × 10−3 m2/s and 8 × 10−3 m2/s), combined with porous blockages defined by Darcy coefficients of 500, 600, and 700, respectively. Research has emphasized how porosity, kinematic viscosity, and horizontal placement affect momentum and pressure distributions. Finally, response surface analysis and response surface modeling were applied to construct and validate a predictive model that describes the relationships among these variables for future use.