Computer-aided combinatorial approach

In the previous chapter, we mainly looked for the equation of the percolation problem in empirical form deduced from dimensional analysis.

The limitation of the above formula is that, in the absence of universal constants, the parameters of the equation will depend to a greater or lesser extent on the actual nature of the percolated material and the characteristics of the penetrating fluid.

This means that, from one case to the next, we have to refix (or recalibrate) the parameters of proportionality (which are not universal) by resorting to new experiments. This cannot be satisfactory. This leads us to complete our research by adopting other, more general approaches, with the aim of studying the phenomenon formally and by discretizing the material into cells.