39--THE FLOW OF LIQUID FROM A JET THROUGH A COMPRESSIBLE POROUS LAYER PART III: THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIQUID FLOW THROUGH A COMPRESSIBLE LAYER OF LOOSE WOOL.

The effects on the conditions of flow of the surface and configurational properties of the fibres in a compressible porous layer are discussed. The characteristics of a layer of wool are evaluated, and its compressibility is determined. It is shown that, when a liquid of initial uniform pressure flows through a compressible porous medium, the pressure gradient within the medium increases with the distance of flow. The resulting pressure drop is found to depend on a function of the ratio of the downstream to the upstream porosity of the compressible medium. Experimental results are reported for permeable flow through various layers of loose wool; these indicate that, when the flow is disturbed turbulent, the pressure drop through the layers is proportional to the square of the filter velocity. This result is not readily apparent from the graphs of pressure drop against filter velocity because of the compressibility of the fibres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]