In previous work on the slotted flow meter, repeatibility and reproducibility were studied under different flow conditions and different configurations. In accordance with previous work, the effects of the distance between the slotted plate were identified as an area requring further investigation. The preset 5D distance is expanded to the 10D distance. The flow coefficient KY, the pressure drop, and the uncertainty analysis is conducted. There were definite deference in the results between the 5D distance and the 10D distance in many aspects. As a base line, the flow coefficient KY showed 0.8% ~ 2% difference between the 5D and the 10D distance case. Depending upon the upstream flow conditions, the reproducibility of the slotted flow meter was affected. The pressure drop increased as the upstream Reynolds number increased. The result from the analysis of the water cut meter showed that there are definite relationships between the parameteres of the water cut meter and the parameters of the flow.

The Soil Water Retention Curve (SWRC) is a key constitutive relationship describing the behavior of variably saturated soils. The objective of this research is to assess the performance of a hydro-mechanical model, developed by coupling the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) with the discrete element method (DEM), for micromechanical simulation of the SWRC. The DEM-LBM model is used to examine the effects of wave propagation on fluid-solid interaction. A multi-phase LBM is then employed within a static particle array generated by the DEM to examine the effects of initial fluid density distribution. The SWRCs are generated by recording the liquid pore pressure and the degree of saturation within a porous medium subjected to imbibition for two cases: randomized fluid density simulation (non-unified wetting front) and droplet simulation (unified wetting front). The coupled DEM-multiphase LBM model is shown to be a promising tool to characterize capillary regime in partially saturated porous media.