A historical review on porous‐media research

Abstract

At the end of the 18th century, serious problems in dyke constructions in Northern Germany and the need to understand coupled solid‐water problems initiated first attempts to describe porous media. Many attempts followed until a sound Theory of Porous Media (TPM) was born on the basis of continuum mechanics of multi‐component materials with multi‐physical properties. The present article roughly describes the development of the TPM from its origins to contemporary applications, thus presenting a short historical review of porous‐media research.