Unsteady flow in porous media by means of a hele‐shaw viscous fluid model

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Abstract
The problem of unsteady flow in porous media was investigated for the two‐dimensional case by a model analogy consisting essentially of an oil flowing through a narrow glass channel. The apparatus, known as a Hele‐Shaw viscous fluid model, avoided the difficulties of measuring flow in porous media. The model was calibrated by steady flow measurements. Unsteady flows, composed of sudden releases of oil into and out of the channel, were recorded and analyzed. Results were presented in graphical form using dimensionless parameters. Agreement with numerical solutions of the basic nonlinear differential equation, as applied to gas flow through porous media, was obtained. A study of a series of solitary sine waves was made as a model analogy of the damping of a flood hydrograph in a ground‐water table adjacent to a stream. Results indicated that the damping rate was independent of both amplitude and period of the flood wave and that the damping distance was a function of the period but not of the amplitude.

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