Experiment to verify the permeability of Hele-Shaw cells
A fluid layer sandwiched between 2 flat plates (Hele-Shaw cell) has been assumed to model a saturated porous medium with permeability, D2/12, dependent only on the gap width, D. For situations where the properties of the porous matrix are important, such as thermal convection, the total cross section (Y) of the sandwich should enter into the computation of permeability. To decide which of these approaches is valid, the onset of convection was observed in a Hele-Shaw cell with constant gap width but spatially varying wall thickness. Convection begins in the thin-walled section at a lower temperature difference than it does where the walls are thick. Data confirm that D3/12Y is the permeability of Hele-Shaw cells used to model thermal convection in porous layers.
- OSTI ID:
- 5330935
- Journal Information:
- Geophys. Res. Lett.; (United States), Vol. 5:4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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