Porous Plates

[jvangilder]

We just released a new ITA CFD modeling object: Porous Plates! What can you do with a Porous Plate? Model cable cutouts, leakage paths, a perforated plate (anywhere) - and many more things. You can specify a flow resistance or "punch" a completely-open hole through any 2D solid including the Raised Floor, Dropped Ceiling, Plates, and Containment.

We also added a new Reference Model, Cable Cutouts, and updated the Fan Wall Reference Model with a Porous Plate object. Check them out as examples or create your own models.

Finally, while we hope the Porous Plate is very easy to understand and use, it introduces some sophisticated new physics that we will soon be bringing also to our Perforated Floor and Ceiling Tile models. First, the "Straightening" option forces airflow to exit the Porous Plate unidirectionally without any lateral (sideways) velocity component. Straightening is "on" by default and appropriate for modeling smaller open areas and for thicker objects. Second, the Porous Plate includes a "momentum kick" which better models the physics associated with airflow squeezing through small holes (in, say, a perforated plate) and exiting with local airflow speeds that are higher than the average. The "momentum kick" is always included and completely transparent to the user. The new model is fairly smart too. It automatically determines which direction the airflow is moving and applies the correct physics - even if the airflow is complex and switches direction anywhere along the Porous Plate.

Please let us know what you think and share your creative uses of the Porous Plate!