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Description
Drying of porous media proceeds through distinct dynamical regimes that reflect the evolving morphology of the pore-scale liquid distribution. Here we combine high-resolution dilatometry with gravimetry and optical imaging to resolve the coupled mechanical and transport response of nanoporous Vycor during water desorption. We show that the macroscopic strain encodes a quantitative elastocapillary fingerprint of the classical constant-rate and falling-rate drying regimes, enabling direct inference of internal capillary pressures and morphological transitions that remain hidden in conventional mass-loss measurements.
These findings connect naturally to our earlier studies which focused on spatially resolved magnetic resonance imaging of drying in Vycor [1] under controlled air-flux boundary conditions as well as imbibition-induced deformation of nanoporous media [2]. These measurements revealed homogeneous or gradient-driven desaturation profiles and validate a diffusion-like transport model derived from Kelvin-law-controlled liquid pressure gradients. Together, the two approaches establish a unified framework linking pore-scale transport, macroscopic strain, and predictive drying models for functional nanoporous materials.
[1] Diffusionlike Drying of a Nanoporous Solid as Revealed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging - B Maillet, G Dittrich, P Huber, P Coussot, Physical Review Applied 18 (5), 054027 (2022).
[2] Deformation dynamics of nanopores upon water imbibition -
J Sanchez, L Dammann, L Gallardo, Z Li, M Fröba, RH Meißner, HA Stone, P. Huber, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121 (38), e2318386121 (2024).
| Country | Germany and France |
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