Institute of Solid State Physics


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Analysing transport through porous media with pore network modeling
Werner Napetschnig
Institute of Solid State Physics
https://tugraz.webex.com/tugraz/j.php?MTID=m4de342ec79895913fba7f816baeafbda
11:15 - 12:15 Wednesday 29 January 2025 

When simulating Stokes flow, characteristic values are used to describe the air transport properties through porous media, such as paper. However, the arrangement of the pathways is often not adequately represented in the definition of these properties. In this study, we highlight the importance of considering these pathways and explore different identification techniques. A pore network model based on microcomputed tomography scans of a paper sample serves as the foundation for flow simulation. Two methods are evaluated to identify the transport paths and pinpoint the most critical flow regions. In the first method, the maximum flow rate between individual pores determines the pathways. It demonstrates that the highest flow travels along the fiber planes and clusters at a few outlet pores. The second method identifies paths iteratively through a stochastic approach, where the flow rate is the weighting factor. We were able to identify the highway areas that are most frequently used. Additionally, we examined the orientation and geometric properties of these highways.