Numerical simulation of non-Darcian flows through spaces partially filled with a porous medium

This work reports on the flow distributions for two configurations relevant to liquid composite molding processes, where a gap between a porous substrate and a solid boundary yields an edge flow. The flow within the porous domain is modeled by the Brinkman–Forchheimer-extended Darcy formulation, and the edge flow itself is described by the Navier–Stokes equations. The two different geometric configurations are studied in terms of their hydrodynamic characteristics using the Darcy number, the Reynolds number and the Forchheimer coefficient. The predictions indicate that the presence of the gap may reduce the averaged flow through the porous substrate to zero, which yield the most adverse conditions in what concerns the wetting of the substrate.