The image on the left is a picture of the permeameter experiment. It works according to Darcy's Law:

where:

k is the permeability in m2

µ is the viscosity (in this case of n-decane),

delta L is the length of ice sample (about 5cm),

delta p is the pressure differential (KPa), and

| v | is the specific discharge (actually measuring mass of n-decane collecting on balance; is measured in g and then converted to m· s -1 )

The image on the left depicts the experiment. The liquid used for the measurements is n-decane and is stored in the container on top. Pressure is build up by gravity (raising the container above the sample) and the liquid is tranported through the sample chamber (which consists of 2 hard plastic top and bottoms and a heavy duty neoprene sleeve). The decane then comes back out at the bottom and is collected in a container on a balance. The pressure sensor, a thermometer and the balance are hooked up to a computer that recordes the measurements and calculates the permeabilities.