Speaker
Description
Cooling-induced salt precipitation occurs in many natural and engineered systems. For example, in porous building materials, salt crystallization driven by temperature fluctuations may lead to progressive degradation of infrastructure and cultural heritage. In soils, it may affect their geotechnical properties, particularly in freeze–thaw settings. While other forms of induced salt precipitation (e.g., drying) have received considerable attention in literature, cooling-induced salt precipitation has remained little explored, in part due to experimental challenges.
X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) is a powerful, non-destructive imaging technique for investigating the internal structure of porous materials. Its ability to image without altering the sample makes it ideal for studying dynamic processes, enabling visualization of material behavior under varying conditions such as temperature, pressure, or fluid composition. In particular, time-resolved micro-CT provides critical insights into reactive fluid flow in complex pore networks by showing where chemical reactions occur within the pore space and providing insights on the rate at which these processes occur.
In this study, we investigate cooling-induced precipitation of potassium chloride (KCl) by subjecting KCl brine-saturated sintered glass samples to repeated cooling–heating cycles. The samples were mounted in an in-situ configuration within a micro-CT scanner, enabling continuous, time-resolved imaging under controlled temperature conditions. Crystallization was initiated by rapid cooling of the sample, followed by gradual heating to dissolve salts, enabling assessment of the homogeneity and “memory effect” of the pore-scale crystallization processes. Multiple cycles with varying cooling and heating endpoints were performed to evaluate the repeatability of the experiments.
Our results demonstrate the feasibility of controlled, reversible salt precipitation and highlight the potential of dynamic micro-CT for probing crystallization dynamics at the pore scale. These insights advance understanding of salt transport and phase transitions in porous systems, with implications for the durability of construction materials, soil engineering, and subsurface reservoir engineering.
| Country | Belgium |
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