Additive manufacturing has the potential to unlock a large degree of geometric freedom in the shaping of catalytic material, thereby providing new possibilities to optimize catalyst holdup, pressure drop and heat and mass transfer characteristics. In this modelling study, baffled logpile structures are proposed as a promising candidate to exploit this potential, by shaping the catalytic material as a static mixer, generating cross-flow. An OpenFOAM Computational Fluid Dynamics study was performed on various 2D structure designs to map the trade-off between heat transfer, pressure drop and residence time distribution as a function of the design, length and gap spacing of the baffle. It is observed that structures with the longest baffles provide optimal heat transfer performance, and that the baffle gap spacing can be used to tailor the trade-off between heat transfer and pressure drop. In comparison to a packed bed filled with spherical particles, the novel structures offer a heat transfer rate four to six times as high at the same pressure drop. Whilst full 3D simulations, validated by experiments, remain to complete the analysis, the current work illustrates the potential of this novel class of structured catalyst materials for intensified chemical reactors.

增材制造有可能在催化材料的成型中释放很大程度的几何自由度，从而为优化催化剂滞留量、压降以及传热传质特性提供新的可能性。在这项建模研究中，折流板木桩结构被认为是开发这一潜力的有希望的候选者，通过将催化材料塑造为静态混合器，产生交叉流。对各种 2D 结构设计进行了 OpenFOAM 计算流体动力学研究，以绘制传热、压降和停留时间分布之间的权衡，作为挡板的设计、长度和间隙间距的函数。据观察，具有最长挡板的结构提供最佳的传热性能，并且挡板间隙间距可用于调整传热和压降之间的权衡。与填充球形颗粒的填充床相比，这种新颖结构在相同压降下的传热速率是其四到六倍。虽然通过实验验证的完整 3D 模拟仍需完成分析，但当前的工作说明了此类新型结构化催化剂材料在强化化学反应器中的潜力。