Reynolds-number-dependent entrance bias in temperature polarization of lab-scale membrane distillation

Abstract

Lab-scale membrane distillation (MD) modules are commonly used for membrane characterization and developing empirical heat-transfer correlations. Entrance-induced flow structures can introduce geometry-specific effects into measured temperature polarization (TP) and heat transfer. However, the dependence of these effects on module geometry and flow condition remains unclear. We performed three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) over inlet Reynolds numbers of $\Re_{\mathrm{in}}=10$-$1000$, focusing on side-chamber length and main-channel height. We discovered that counter-rotating streamwise vortices formed near the main-channel entrance across all geometries, but their downstream persistence increased with $\Re_{\mathrm{in}}$. At lower $\Re_{\mathrm{in}}$, the vortices mostly decayed before mid-channel, while at higher $\Re_{\mathrm{in}}$ they persisted farther downstream and produced pronounced spatial variations in TP. Increasing side-chamber length reduced the secondary-flow kinetic energy entering the main channel, and generally strengthened TP, whereas increasing main-channel height reduced the bulk velocity and streamwise kinetic energy, resulting in a thicker thermal boundary layer and stronger TP. For most geometries, the deviation from the straight-channel baseline changed from stronger TP at lower $\Re_{\mathrm{in}}$ to weaker TP at higher $\Re_{\mathrm{in}}$. Entrance effects therefore vary in both magnitude and direction with operating condition and cannot be represented by a constant correction across the Reynolds-number range.