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D W Barr

Publications and source records attributed to D W Barr.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Coefficient of permeability determined by measurable parameters.

Selection of a coefficient of permeability or the hydraulic conductivity in practical situations has required a fair amount of judgment and the expectation of accuracy can range over an order of magnitude. A determination of the coefficient based on measurable characteristics would greatly reduce the judgment aspect. The coefficient of permeability of a porous media can be derived from the following measurable parameters: the density and viscosity of the permeating fluid, the porosity of the media, the average hydraulic radius of the pores, and the gravitation constant. The hydraulic radius is calculated from the grain size distribution analysis of the porous media assuming spherical particles and a factor to account for the shape of the particles. The shape factor ranges from 1.0 to 1.4 in the extreme but, for common porous media, ranges only from 1.0 to about 1.1. All of the variables, except the shape factor, are measurable by standard test procedures. An important advantage of using this procedure for determining permeability is that the factors can be visualized as part of the physical flow process. The procedure assumes laminar flow and applies equally to liquid or gas fluids.

Geologic Sediments↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Turbulent flow through porous media.

The pressure driving flow through porous media must be equal to the viscous resistance plus the inertial resistance. Formulas are developed for both the viscous resistance and the inertial resistance. The expression for the coefficient of permeability consists of parameters which describe the characteristics of the porous medium and the permeating fluid and which, for unconsolidated isotropic granular media, are all measurable. A procedure is proposed for testing for the occurrence of turbulence and calculating the effective permeability when it occurs. The formulas are applied to a set of data from 588 permeameter runs ranging from laminar to highly turbulent. The equations fit the data from the permeameter closely through the laminar flow conditions and quite closely through the turbulent conditions. In the turbulent range, the plotting of the data separates into three distinct lines for each of the three shapes of particles used in the tests. For the porous medium and fluid of these tests, turbulence begins at a head gradient of about 0.1.

Models, Theoretical↗