Lattice Boltzmann simulations of complex flows in fibrous porous media

Flow phenomena in porous media are relevant in many industrial applications including filters, membranes, and biomedical implants. For instance, nonwoven membranes can be used as filtration media with tailored permeability range and controllable pore size distribution. Predicting the structure-property relations that arise from specific porous microstructures remains a challenging task, and theoretical approaches have been limited to simple geometries. Computer simulations are a cost-effective way of validating semi-empirical relations and predicting the precise relations between macroscopic transport properties and microscopic pore structure. In this contribution, we discuss lattice-based modeling approaches for multiphase flow in porous media and demonstrate their application to nonwoven fibrous membranes and coalescence filtration.