The experimental research and analysis of permeability of basalt and wood particle aggregates

In this paper, the theory and method for investigating the permeability of wood and basalt particle aggregates, were developed. It was found that if t he air flow velocity over the characteristic length of the particle bed was less than 3 m/s, there existed a linear relationship between the air flow rate and the pressure gradient. Under this circumstance, Darcy's law was va lid for describing the fluid flow process in particle aggregates. The perme ability of different wood chips of linden, poplar, birch and elm was experi mentally tested with respect to a number of factors like tree species, part icle size distribution, porosity, moisture content and bulk density. The st udy showed that the permeability of wood particle aggregates was influenced by tree species having great effects on particle size distribution and, in turn, on porosity, and that increased with the increasing of the mean part icle size of wood chips. Also the permeability of different basalt particle size distribution and porosity were measured.