TitleNumerical study of the effects of particle shape and polydispersity on permeability
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsGarcia X, Akanji L, Blunt M, Matthai S, Latham J
JournalPhysical Review E
Volume80
Pagination021304
Date Publishedaug
ISSN1539-3755
AbstractWe study through numerical simulations the dependence of the hydraulic permeability of granular materials on the particle shape and the grain size distribution. Several models of sand are constructed by simulating the settling under gravity of the grains; the friction coefficient is varied to construct packs of different porosity. The size distribution and shapes of the grains mimic real sands. Fluid flow is simulated in the resulting packs using a finite element method and the permeability of the packs is successfully compared with available experimental data. Packs of nonspherical particles are less permeable than sphere packs of the same porosity. Our results indicate that the details of grain shape and size distribution have only a small effect on the permeabilty of the systems studied. © 2009 The American Physical Society.
URLhttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-70349241904&partnerID=tZOtx3y1
DOI10.1103/PhysRevE.80.021304