Calculating equivalent permeability : a review

The purpose of this article is to review the various methods used to calculate the equivalent permeability of a heterogeneous porous medium. It shows how equivalence is defined by using a criterion of flow or of the energy dissipated by viscous forces and explains the two different concepts of effective permeability and block permeability. The intention of this review is to enable the reader to use the various published techniques and to indicate in what circumstances they can be most suitably applied.