The influence of fibrous bed bulk density on the bed properties

The mean properties of seven different fibrous materials and the properties of their different bed bulk densities were investigated. The morphology of the surface, size and geometry were measured by optical microscopy. The bed porosity was measured by the weighing method. The experimental bed permeability, in a high range of bulk density, was calculated from the values of the sanitary water pressure drop at a constant temperature of 15?C, since the data followed Darcy's law. The Reynolds number for a fibrous bed was calculated using a relation from the literature. The Reynolds number was less than 1 for all ranges of fluid velocity. Three empirical relations for fibrous bed permeability were used and compared with the experimental data. It was determined that the empirical data depended on the fiber diameter and fraction of solid in the bed. The relative error linearly increased with increasing fiber diameter.