The ability to create uniform liquor flow in the counter-current zones of a continuous digester was studied in the laboratory using a 40L model digester equipped with an eight-plane electrical resistance tomography (ERT) sensor array. Conductively tagged fluid flows were visualized moving through a stationary bed of uncooked wood chips for a range of process flow conditions. Simulations using scaled axial (upflow) and downcomer-screen (radial) flows were used to model the counter-current zones in two industrial digesters. These were compared with flow patterns obtained by varying the ratio of upflow to downcomer-screen flow over a wider range. The optimal flow ratios and fluxes are discussed with regard to radial and vertical zone uniformity.