Numerical evaluation of the permeability and the Kozeny constant for two types of porous media

The permeabilities of a random array of spheres and a clay soil were calculated using the lattice-Boltzmann method. The structure of the clay soil was determined by computed tomography imaging. As observed experimentally, the semi-empirical Carman-Kozeny equation gave a good estimate for the permeability of the random array of spheres. For the soil sample, the calculated value of the permeability was consistent with experimental values. The Carman-Kozeny equation provided a much less successful estimate for the permeability of the soil than the random spheres