Pre-Publicación 2024-15
Isaac Bermudez, Víctor Burgos, Jessika Camaño, Fernando Gajardo, Ricardo Oyarzúa, Manuel Solano:
Mixed finite element methods for coupled fluid flow problems arising from reverse osmosis modeling
Abstract:
We consider a mathematical model for addressing coupled fluid flow problems arising from reverse osmosis modeling in water desalination processes. It consists of the coupled Navier Stokes/transport and Brinkman–Forchheimer/transport equations, with nonlinear conditions across a semi-permeate membrane. The cases of a single desalination channel and coupled feed/permeate channels are covered. To solve these partial differential equations, we employ a new mixed finite element method able to capture several variables of interest such as the salt concentration level, pressure drop and fluid velocity. Through diverse numerical simulations and a variety of configurations, we illustrate the capability of the method to accurately capture the behaviour of saline water when passing through membrane-based reverse osmosis desalination channels.
