FLUID-FLOW IN CAPILLARY SUCTION APPARATUS

The fluid flow through porous media in capillary suction apparatus (CSA) was investigated experimentally and theoretically. Water, with and without surfactant additives, methanol, and ethylene glycol were used to study the effects of liquid on capillary suction time of apparatus with various column radii and sampling locations. A model based on the saturation-diffusion mechanism was developed. The results showed satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. A modified capillary suction time was proposed based on the model which incorporated only the liquid effect and was independent of the apparatus used. Experiments with kaolin slurry showed that the model could be used to describe the fluid flow behavior in CSA with cake formation, if the liquid saturation under the inner cylinder was taken as less than unity.