Presentation materials
Our understanding of how complex subsurface porous and fractured rock, fluid, and microbe systems are coupled and have dynamically evolved over geologic time is limited. Yet, this knowledge is necessary for effective subsurface resource and waste management over millennial timescales. Fundamental questions include: How do changes at the land surface alter fluid flow, fluid-rock reactions, and...
Most bio-based materials, such as paper, natural textiles, sponges, wood or plants, fiber panels for insulation, are porous systems through which water transfers play an essential role in the applications. A specificity of these materials is that they are also hygroscopic: they can absorb huge amounts of water, typically up to about 25% of their dry mass, from ambient vapor, in the form of...
Phase-field models have proven to be effective simulation tools for describing interfacial processes at computationally feasible scales. Recent applications of these models include simulating the nucleation and propagation of hydraulic fractures in geological formations, as well as the behavior of fluid-fluid interfaces during flow through permeable media. The phase-field approach seeks to...
In low-permeability fractured media, such as granites and shales, flow and the associated transport of dissolved solutes is controlled primarily by fractures embedded within the rock matrix. The geometry of individual fractures, size and aperture, as well as the network structure determine the structure of the fluid flow field. However, the relevant lengths scales within a fracture network...
The dynamic behavior of molecules and nanoparticles in confined environments, such as at interfaces and within porous materials, lead to complex and highly-varied phenomena, where heterogeneity may arise from spatial variation of the material/interface itself, from structural configurations, or through inhomogeneous dynamic behavior. To obtain relevant information about these complex dynamics,...
The percolation of acidic fluids through natural rocks (e.g. CO2 storage, Karst formation, geothermal formation) induces chemical reactions of dissolution and/or precipitation, which consequently alter the structural and hydrodynamic properties of the rock. These reactions are not uniformly distributed but instead become localized based on various local parameters, such as fluid velocity...
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of some 12,000 chemicals, are recognized as contaminants of emerging concern by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which has recently promulgated stringent (part per trillion) nationwide drinking water standards for a few of the most prevalent of these compounds. Historically, PFAS were essential ingredients of aqueous film forming foams...
Membrane filtration processes are well known for their successful application in food. It may therefore come as a surprise that the mechanistic understand of what is underlying filtration is not that well understood, especially not when components are used that are typical for food production. These component are flexible and deformable and behave rather different from hard particles.
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