Resistance and Regime Relationship In Flow Through Porous Media Considering the Effects of Porosity, Wall and Tortuosity

Abstract

A reliable relationship between Resistance coefficient (λ) and Reynolds number (Re) which are primarily functions of characteristic length and characteristic velocity, proved to be a probable solution for many problems related to porous media flow. Due to intricate and tortuous structure of porous media, defining characteristic length and characteristic velocity is very complicate and hence expressed in terms of influencing parameters. This paper presents results of an experimental study on relationship between λ and Re with a special emphasis on characteristic length and characteristic velocity. Experimentation is carried out using a specially fabricated permeameter with water as fluid medium and seven sizes of coarse gravel, five sizes of river sand and three sizes of glass spheres as porous media. To make the findings more reliable, the expressions relating λ and Re are subjected to porosity, tortuosity and wall effect corrections.