During a discussion on IRC. a
 

During a discussion on IRC. a doubt about reactingFoam implementation came out.

In reactingFoam, the transport equation for the specie mass fration contains the diffusional term in the form:

fvm::laplacian(turbulence->muEff(), Yi)

which means that the effective specie diffusivity is assumed to be equal to the effective viscosity:

Deff = D_lam + D_turb = nu_lam/Sc_lam + nu_turb/Sc_turb = nu_lam + nu_turb

which means that

Sc_lam = Sc_turb = 1

Why this assumption is done?

For example, in a laminar calculation, if we consider water, the viscosity of the fluid and the diffusivity of a specie, for example the oxygen, can be very different. At 25°C we have:

D_02 ~ 2.0 * 10^-10 m^2/s
nu_H20 ~ 1.0 * 10^-4 m^2/s

In turbulent flows, the turbulent Schmidt number is set to 0.7 in other codes, but however it can change too. For example, in a pipe with passive transport it's between 0.6 and 0.9.

Thanks in advance for any clarification.

With kind regards,
Alberto

I guess the reason is that when dealing with turbulent combustion, the molecular transport are often small compared to their tubulent counterparts and so are neglected.
But I think it is very important of you to have pointed it out that when dealing with laminar combustion with OpenFoam, special attention may have to be paid to the issue. But I am not very sure about this.

You are right alberto, I usually use fvm::laplacian(turbulence->muEff()/Sc, Yi) and set Sc=0.7.

dear alberto
i have a problem and i think you can help me.
my problem is mass transfer from solid to liquid with electrochemical method and i want simulate this problem with openfoam and i cant find solver for it.
how resolvent your problem?
use a solver or write a code for it.
if you write a code : can i have your code?
very very thank in advance