A simulation and experimental approach for flow through stratified porous media perpendicular to bedding plane

Permeability(k) or hydraulic conductivity of a soil mass is an important soil property which describes quantitatively, the ease with which water flows through the soil. Since permeability directly affects the rate of flow of water in the soil mass, it is an important soil property and has its significance in several aspects of soil analysis. Fluid flow through permeable soil for stratified soil system normal to bedding plane is presented in this paper. To find out permeability in the laboratory, extensive experimentation is required. Permeability analysis for a large number of stratified soil layers is a time-consuming affair. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) seems to be an excellent alternative to carry out such analysis without much effort. ANSYS Fluent 14 software is used to carry out a 3-D CFD analysis to predict the permeability of different stratified soil masses. Permeability analysis for various soil combinations made from five soil types namely silt (S), fly ash (FA), fine sand (FS), Coarse sand (CS) and gravel (G) were carried out experimentally along with CFD analysis. Pressure drop variation was obtained as an outcome of CFD analysis. The layered soil samples were modeled as porous media following Forchheimer's equation. A constant porosity of 40% was maintained throughout the experimental work. Simulated permeability was determined based on pressure drop along the length of porous soil, which was obtained using ANSYS Fluent 14 software and compared for various soil materials. The error between experimental and simulated values of permeability was also shown in the present study.