Flow of polymer solutions through packed beds

A modified Rabinowitsch equation employing two geometric parameters is used in conjunction with the Carreau viscosity equation to describe the laminar flow of aqueous polymer solutions through packed beds. The capillary model is shown to be inadequate using the power law model. The excess pressure drop observed in packed beds for viscoeleastic fluids could be accounted for partly by using a purely viscous model having a zero-shear viscosity such as the Carreau equation. A prediction based solely on the zero-shear viscosity represents the upper-bound of the viscous contributions. The difference in the pressure drop between the experiment and the upper-bound prediction can be attributed to the elastic effect. A correlation of the excess pressure drop with a modified Deborah number is presented