PEFP Permeability/Fluidisation Studies Unit

The Permeability/Fluidisation Studies Unit, "PEFP", allows to observe the behaviour of liquid fluidisation in a granular bed.

The main element is a permeability meter. It is a transparent cylinder that supports the soil sample to be studied. Water will flow downward to study permeability or upward to study fluidization.

The cylinder has four pressure taps: one at the top and one at the bottom to measure the pressure drop through the bed and two along the cylinder to measure the total pressure at those specific points of the sample.

Water is supplied to the permeability meter by a constant pressure supply device. It is a transparent tank with an overflow located above the permeability meter. The height of this tank can be changed, thus modifying the pressure.

Two metal filtering discs are placed between the floor and the porous element at the top and bottom of the cylinder. These discs act as filters and distribute the flow over the cross-sectional area of the sample.

The unit has two manometers: a tube manometer used to measure low pressures and a Bourdon manometer used to measure high pressures.