Permeability (earth sciences)

Permeability in fluid mechanics and the earth sciences (commonly symbolized as , or k) is a measure of the ability of a porous material (often, a rock or unconsolidated material) to allow fluids to pass through it. Units
The SI unit for permeability is m2. A traditional unit for permeability is the darcy (D), or more commonly the millidarcy (mD) (1 darcy m2 = 104 cm2). 1012m2). The unit of cm2 is also sometimes used (1

Description
Permeability is part of the proportionality constant in Darcy's law which relates discharge (flow rate) and fluid physical properties (e.g. viscosity), to a pressure gradient applied to the porous media:

Therefore:

where:

v is the superficial fluid flow velocity through the medium (i.e., the average velocity
calculated as if the fluid were the only phase present in the porous medium) (m/s) is the permeability of a medium (m2) is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid (Pa s) P is the applied pressure difference (Pa) x is the thickness of the bed of the porous medium (m)

In naturally occurring materials, permeability values range over many orders of magnitude (see table below for an example of this range).

Permeability

Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Groundwater Supply

Just as the porosity of a soil affects how much water it can hold, it also affects how quickly water can flow through the soil. The ability of water to flow through a soil is referred to as the soil's permeability. As you can probably guess, the permeability of gravel is higher than that of clay. But can you guess how much higher? Click the button below to see how long it might take water to travel 1 meter in different soil types....

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