Conferences (1998)

Research in the field of transport phenomena and multiphase flows at FORTH-ICE/HT has both an experimental and a theoretical component and is pursued along the following directions:

1. Two- and three-phase flows of Newtonian and shear-thinning fluids in porous media (immiscible, partially miscible and miscible displacements, "steady state" flow, etc.) with applications to enhanced oil recovery and soil reconstitution.
2. Transport and deposition of fine solid particles (Brownian or non-Brownian) during flow of solid/fluid suspensions through porous media. Clogging and reduction of permeability.
3. Numerical simulation of diffusion and dispersion in porous media using particle-tracking algorithms, and calculation of effective transport coefficients.
4. Experimental and theoretical determination of permeation of single gases & gas mixtures through microporous membranes, using fundamental principles of adsorption and diffusion. Analysis results combined with information from membrane microstructural characterization are used as feedback in membrane fabrication for improving gas mixture permselective behavior.
5. Hydrodynamic interactions of particle clusters with each other and with solid or permeable walls.
6. Flow of emulsions and solid-in-liquid suspensions with particles that have non-spherical shapes with applications to medical diagnosis.
7. Consolidation of unconsolidated and poorly consolidated media through precipitation of inorganic salts. s
8. Quantification of the fractional wettability of the internal surface of porous materials by using the transient response of the pressure drop across the porous medium as a “fingerprint” of the relevant two-phase flow pattern (capillary pressure spectrometry).
9. Computer-aided reconstruction of porous media from 2D images, using stochastic and ballistic simulations.
10. Algorithms for the determination of the geometrical and topological properties of the pore structure of mesoporous materials (e.g. catalyst carriers) by using the N2 adsorption / desorption and Hg intrusion / retraction data.
11. Droplet dynamics during ink-jetting, spreading, and evaporation on solid surfaces. Computation of flow field and interpretation of film pattern formation.
    

Numerical algorithms are also developed aiming at elucidating structure-to-property relationships in porous media and investigating fundamental transport phenomena related to their process engineering at the atomistic, mesoscopic and macroscopic levels. Recently, two-phase flow simulators were developed for the investigation of film formation during droplet spreading on substrates for the fabrication of microelectronic devices.