Permeability for flow normal to a sparse array of fibres

Solutions for flow normal to an array of fibers (visualized as circular cylinders) arranged in a square array were determined using a finite element formulation. The calculated results were used to obtain the permeability for flow through the system with as little as 0.01 volume fraction solid and for a Reynolds number up to 40. These results can be used to estimate permeabilities for infiltrating fiber composites or for modeling the solidification of dendritic alloys with transport phenomena in porous media.