Theoretical and experimental investigation of the channeling effect in fluid flow through porous media

During fluid flow through a channel filled with porous fiber, due to the gap between the walls and the edge of fiber or the variation of porosity, permeability will become a variable. In this paper, all exponential model is assumed for porosity and permeability. Also, the two-dimensional momentum equation is solved by the finite difference method, using a maker and cell (MAC) scheme and variable grid size mesh. Also, in order to verify the theoretical results, an experimental apparatus is designed and constructed. The experimental results were used to determine the model parameters. The results showed good validity of the assumed exponential model for prediction of preformed fiber permeability with air gap, as a function of distance from the walls.