About this Research Topic
Drying of porous media is ubiquitously observed in nature and engineering fields, ranging from evaporation of soil, food reservation to nanoparticle self-assembly and cooling of computer chips, etc. Drying is a typical liquid-vapor phase change process that attracts a lot of attention, and drying of porous media is more interesting because of the diverse geometries of porous media. With the development of numerical modeling and experimental techniques, the study of drying in porous media at pore-scale has become possible. Pore network model, lattice Boltzmann model, and their hybrid model have shown great advantages in accurately modeling the dynamics of drying in porous media, and they have been successfully applied to reveal the drying mechanisms, i.e., the conjugated two-phase fluid flow, phase change, and heat and mass transfer. Experiments, on the other hand, can validate the numerical model, and more importantly, promote the new discoveries. Combinative numerical and experimental study has led to the rapid development of drying of porous media.
Despite the achievements, there are still some shortcomings of both numerical modeling and experimental techniques. For instance, for pore network modeling, the simplification of complex porous media to pore and throat structures is a disadvantage and can always be improved. For lattice Boltzmann modeling, the computational efficiency, curved boundaries, large parameter ranges are remained problems. For both methods, the coupling of different physical/chemical processes is a big issue. Concerning experimental study, more advanced techniques to better investigate pore-scale flows, heat, and mass transfer are severely required.
In this Research Topic, we desire to seek the latest advances of drying in porous media, including the developments of numerical models and experimental techniques, and their utilization to reveal pore-scale mechanisms. We also pursue the novel engineering applications connected to drying of porous media.
The scope of this topic is bounded to drying of porous media and associated physical/chemical processes, concerning advanced modeling, mechanism revealing and engineering applications. Both original research articles and reviews/mini-reviews are warmly welcome.
Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, works on the following:
• Advanced pore network model for drying.
• Advanced liquid-vapor two-phase lattice Boltzmann model for drying.
• Coupled pore network and lattice Boltzmann model for drying.
• Drying of colloidal suspension.
• Drying-induced salt precipitation/crystallization.
• Mechanism of wettability heterogeneity/hysteresis on drying of porous media.
• Drying-induced sol-gel transition.
• Drying-induced nanoparticle self-assembly and applications.
• Efficient cooling of integrated circuits.
Despite the achievements, there are still some shortcomings of both numerical modeling and experimental techniques. For instance, for pore network modeling, the simplification of complex porous media to pore and throat structures is a disadvantage and can always be improved. For lattice Boltzmann modeling, the computational efficiency, curved boundaries, large parameter ranges are remained problems. For both methods, the coupling of different physical/chemical processes is a big issue. Concerning experimental study, more advanced techniques to better investigate pore-scale flows, heat, and mass transfer are severely required.
In this Research Topic, we desire to seek the latest advances of drying in porous media, including the developments of numerical models and experimental techniques, and their utilization to reveal pore-scale mechanisms. We also pursue the novel engineering applications connected to drying of porous media.
The scope of this topic is bounded to drying of porous media and associated physical/chemical processes, concerning advanced modeling, mechanism revealing and engineering applications. Both original research articles and reviews/mini-reviews are warmly welcome.
Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, works on the following:
• Advanced pore network model for drying.
• Advanced liquid-vapor two-phase lattice Boltzmann model for drying.
• Coupled pore network and lattice Boltzmann model for drying.
• Drying of colloidal suspension.
• Drying-induced salt precipitation/crystallization.
• Mechanism of wettability heterogeneity/hysteresis on drying of porous media.
• Drying-induced sol-gel transition.
• Drying-induced nanoparticle self-assembly and applications.
• Efficient cooling of integrated circuits.
Keywords: drying, evaporation, phase change, heat transfer, porous media, precipitation, crystallization, lattice boltzmann model, pore network model
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
