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Pore-scale simulations to study the interaction of DIffusioPHORESis, flow and transport through porous media

Project description

In and out, round and about: modelling the microscale flow of colloids through porous media

Particles move in response to many different driving forces. Volatile molecules wafting off food cooking in the kitchen find their way to your nose in the living room as they move down their concentration gradient. Colloids, very small particles that remain dispersed in solutions without dissolving or settling down, are affected by concentration gradients as well. Fields ranging from sensing and filtration to energy and medical diagnosis exploit the flow of colloidal solutions through porous materials, adding another layer of interaction via solid interfaces with relatively large surface areas. The EU-funded DIPHORES project is developing pore-scale models that will facilitate the simulation of colloidal flow through porous media, enabling better control for many applications.

Objective

Flow containing suspended colloidal particles is found in a multitude of situations. Unexpected particle dynamics occur in the presence of local solute concentration gradients, due to cooperating and competing effects of particle migration driven by the solute gradients and advection. This particle migration, referred to as diffusiophoresis, is often accompanied by diffusioosmosis in which the solute gradients impose slip flows over solid surfaces. Recent investigations have shown that it is possible to achieve rapid particle focusing in micro-geometries by manipulating the properties of the solute, particle and flow, as well as the surface chemistry and configuration. This can be exploited for a plethora of applications.

Most potential applications involve flow through porous media. Approaches for modelling flow through porous media at the Darcy scale are well established today, but their extension to introduce diffusiophoretic and diffusioosmotic net effects is not straight-forward, owing to their dependence on local effects at the pore scale. The combined study of diffusiophoresis and pore-scale flow dynamics has not been attempted to date. DIPHORES aims to carry out pore-scale simulations to study the interaction of diffusiophoresis and flow through porous media. The project activities include (a) development and implementation of a diffusiophoretic model a finite element code, (b) 2D and 3D pore-scale simulations and (c) upscaling of dynamics to the Darcy scale.

The project will be conducted at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), with an internationally leading expertise in pore-scale simulations. Secondment at Université de Lausanne (UNIL) is aimed towards defining test cases to be reproduced experimentally in micromodels. Secondment at Repsol S. A., an energy company, is aimed to assess the potential of the research topic towards a practical application.

Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

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Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 172 932,48
Address
CALLE RAMIRO DE MAEZTU 7 EDIFICIO RECTORADO
28040 MADRID
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 172 932,48
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