Robust evaluation of flow front data for in-plane permeability characterization by radial flow experiments

A novel approach is presented for modeling the temporally advancing fluid flow front in radial flow experiments for in-plane permeability characterization of reinforcing fabrics. The method is based on fitting an elliptic paraboloid to the flow front data collected throughout such an experiment. This “paraboloid” approach is compared to the conventional “ellipse” method and validated by means of data sets of optically tracked experiments from two different research institutions. A detailed discussion of the results reveals the benefits of the “paraboloid” method in terms of numerical efficiency as well robustness against temporal or local data variations. The “paraboloid” method is tested on temporally and spatially limited data sets from a testrig involving linear capacitive sensors. There, the method shows advantages over the conventional approach as it incorporates the entirety of available measurement data, particularly in the last stages of the experiments which are most characteristic for the material under test.