ChannelCOMB Device for Mesostructured Reactors and Networks of Reactors

Abstract

ChannelCOMB, a consecutive flow distributor, was constructed by additive manufacturing (AM) for experimental validation. The feasibility of using AM was experimentally analyzed for two techniques: stereolithography (tolerance of 50 mu m) and fused deposition modeling (tolerance of 100 mu m). For the best ChannelCOMB configuration, SLA printing shows a maximum of ca. 4 % in flow deviation, while FDM has a maximum of ca. 15 %. Thus, the SLA technique promotes better flow uniformity due to the fabrication tolerance and material permeability. The results also show that the experimental flow distribution measured for the best ChannelCOMB configuration printed by SLA can be well predicted by both computational fluid dynamics simulations and a model based on resistance analogs proposed in a previous work.