Fractal Characteristics and Scaling of the Drying Front in Porous Media: A Pore Network Study

We perform two-dimensional pore network simulations of isothermal drying in order to provide better insight on the structure of the drying patterns, particularly in the frontal region, both in the presence and absence of gravity forces. Our numerical results for the fractal dimension of the invading...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drying technology 2010-07, Vol.28 (8), p.981-990
Main Authors: Yiotis, A. G., Tsimpanogiannis, I. N., Stubos, A. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bond number
Computer simulation
Drying
Fractal
Fractal analysis
Fractals
Gravitation
Gravity
Heat transfer
Invasion percolation
Networks
Phase transitions
Pore network
Porosity
Porous materials
Porous medium
Scaling
Simulation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We perform two-dimensional pore network simulations of isothermal drying in order to provide better insight on the structure of the drying patterns, particularly in the frontal region, both in the presence and absence of gravity forces. Our numerical results for the fractal dimension of the invading gaseous phase (D p  = 1.88 ± 0.03) and the drying front perimeter (D e  = 1.34 ± 0.06) in the absence of gravity are in very good agreement with reported experimental and theoretical values. The scaling of the drying front width, σ f , in the presence of a front-stabilizing gravity gradient is also examined and it is found to scale with the Bond number (ratio of gravity to capillary forces) as σ f  ∝ |B| −0.58 . The width of the finger, ξ, that develops by a front-destabilizing gravity gradient is found to scale as ξ ∝ |B| −0.57 . We also report the effects of gravity forces on the drying rates and their scaling.
ISSN:0737-3937
1532-2300
DOI:10.1080/07373937.2010.497087