Porous media in the context of Permeability (porous media)

In fluid mechanics, materials science and Earth sciences, the permeability of porous media (often, a rock or soil) is a measure of the ability for fluids (gas or liquid) to flow through the media; it is commonly symbolized as k.Fluids can more easily flow through a material with high permeability than one with low permeability.

The permeability of a medium is related to the porosity, but also to the shapes of the pores in the medium and their level of connectedness. Fluid flows can also be influenced in different lithological settings by brittle deformation of rocks in fault zones; the mechanisms by which this occurs are the subject of fault zone hydrogeology. Permeability is also affected by the pressure inside a material.

Reservoir simulation is an area of reservoir engineering in which computer models are used to predict the flow of fluids (typically, oil, water, and gas) through porous media.

The creation of models of oil fields and the implementation of calculations of field development on their basis is one of the main areas of activity of engineers and oil researchers. On the basis of geological and physical information about the properties of an oil, gas or gas condensate field, consideration of the capabilities of the systems and technologies for its development create quantitative ideas about the development of the field as a whole. A system of interrelated quantitative ideas about the development of a field is a model of its development, which consists of a reservoir model and a model of a field development process. Layer models and processes for extracting oil and gas from them are always clothed in a mathematical form, i.e. characterized by certain mathematical relationships. The main task of the engineer engaged in the calculation of the development of an oil field is to draw up a calculation model based on individual concepts derived from a geological-geophysical study of the field, as well as hydrodynamic studies of wells. Generally speaking, any combination of reservoir models and development process can be used in an oil field development model, as long as this combination most accurately reflects reservoir properties and processes. At the same time, the choice of a particular reservoir model may entail taking into account any additional features of the process model and vice versa.

A trickling filter is a type of wastewater treatment system. It consists of a fixed bed of some material, such as rocks, coke, gravel, slag, polyurethane foam, sphagnum peat moss, ceramic, or plastic media, over which sewage or other wastewater flows downward and causes a layer of microbial slime (biofilm) to grow, covering the bed of media. Aerobic conditions are maintained by splashing, diffusion, and either by forced-air flowing through the bed or natural convection of air if the filter medium is porous. The treatment of sewage or other wastewater with trickling filters is among the oldest and most well characterized treatment technologies.

The fundamental components of a complete trickling filter system are: