Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) measurements of flow in porous media

Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) is emerging as a measurement technique for flow in granular media and material processing equipment and is of interest to experimental fluid dynamics as it offers the potential for the study of flows in apparatuses lacking optical access. Here, PEPT is explored as a viable means of Lagrangian particle tracking for studies of diffusion in porous media. Packed beds are constructed of glass beads of varying sizes and particle tracking studies are conducted therein using water as the working fluid. Measured trajectories are then analyzed to validate various models of anomalous diffusion in porous systems. This work focuses on the deployment of PEPT for porous media study and preliminary results in packed bed systems.