Role of inertia in falling head permeability test

This paper discusses the role of macro‐ and micro‐inertial forces in the falling head permeability test. The model of flow including viscous and dynamic interaction forces is formulated. Then, the model is used to perform numerical simulations of the tests for high‐permeability soils. The presented results prove the existence of a level of permeability of materials above which macro‐and micro‐inertial forces are important and that in all cases the latter forces are dominant. The results suggest limited validity of the standard interpretation of the falling head permeability test and possible usefulness of the test to determine both permeability and the parameter characterizing non‐linear interactions of fluid and solid skeleton. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.