Magnetohydrodynamic Flows in Porous Media II: Experimental Results

Experimental data are presented for the pressure drop of a flowing conducting fluid within a packed bed of spheres through a transverse magnetic field. Pertinent background information is presented about flows in porous media followed by relevant details of the experiment apparatus and equipment. The data are presented and discussed and then compared with the predictions from the previously developed analytical model. It is found that good agreement exists between the data when plotted in dimensionless form. As with the other equations for fluid flow in porous media, the analytical forms specify behavior to within an experimentally determined constant. A new constant, the Sanders constant, contained within the equation for the resistance ratio, is proposed. The experiment data are compared with the analytical model, and the best value of the Sanders constant is estimated.