The purpose of this investigation is to determine the feasibility of applying the relaxation method of mathematical analysis to the solution of problems involving the flow of gases through porous media. The relaxation method was first applied to two-dimensional problems by Christopherson and Southwell, who applied it to problems in stress analysis. It was later applied to steady-state heat conduction problems by H. W. Emmons and to steady-state flow of incompressible liquids by A. A. Zwierschowski. The solutions of problems involving the flow of gases through porous media is difficult for all but the simplest boundary conditions, and impractical for many conditions, when the usual analytical means are employed. Consequently, the need for alternative methods of solution is evident --Preface, page ii-iii
