The flow of water through perforation plates of Liquidambar styraciflua vessels was studied through a computational fluid dynamics approach together with a large-scale physical model of the perforation plate. For the computational approach, a finite elements model was constructed of a 20-pore perforation plate and the region around the plate. Solutions of this model describe pressures and velocities for points within the model. The pressure gradient within the pores of the plate was about 40-fold greater than for regions away from the plate. However the influence of the plate on flow extends for only a very short distance before and after the plate. Overall, the perforation plate in this model was calculated to account for 23% of the total resistance to flow encountered along the vessel. Calculations from the physical model provided a similar estimate of 21% for the contribution of the perforation plate to flow resistance.
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Paul J. Schulte (1999) studied this question.