This reference offers information on the science and advances of wicking in porous materials. It describes various modeling approaches, traditional and modern, but maintains an emphasis on the modern methodologies. A host of internationally recognized scientists and researchers contribute chapters that describe the physics of wicking and the different approaches available for modeling wicking. Chapters cover measurement of wetting parameters such as surface tension and contact angle; the Washburn Equation; measurement of various quantities; wicking in rigid porous materials; wicking in swelling porous materials; and two-phase flow approaches to modeling wick flow.

The aim of this work is to advance the knowledge on the behavior of fluids in porous materials. Wicking, or imbibition, is a spontaneous penetration of liquid into porous media due to capillary forces. Due to the challenges of the capillary transport of cryogenic liquids, the wicking of liquid nitrogen subjected to evaporation was of a special interest for this research. For that, a novel test facility was built to perform experiments in a one-species system under pre-defined non-isothermal conditions. Two one-dimensional macroscopic wicking models were proposed to evaluate the impact of the porous sample superheat, geometrical and structural characteristics as well as the impact of the vapor flow created due to evaporation. In the second part of this work, the capillary transport abilities of porous ceramic monoliths of anisotropic structure were studied. The polymer-derived ceramic samples fabricated with the freeze-casting method were characterized via vertical wicking tests. In the third part, the capillary transport properties of porous media and the wicking process were examined using the computational fluid dynamics software. The results of benchmark microscopic and macroscopic simulations may serve as a basis for further numerical investigations of fluid flow problems in porous media.

Focusing on heat transfer in porous media, this book covers recent advances in nano and macro’ scales. Apart from introducing heat flux bifurcation and splitting within porous media, it highlights two-phase flow, nanofluids, wicking, and convection in bi-disperse porous media. New methods in modeling heat and transport in porous media, such as pore-scale analysis and Lattice–Boltzmann methods, are introduced. The book covers related engineering applications, such as enhanced geothermal systems, porous burners, solar systems, transpiration cooling in aerospace, heat transfer enhancement and electronic cooling, drying and soil evaporation, foam heat exchangers, and polymer-electrolyte fuel cells.

This book summarizes, defines, and contextualizes multiphysics with an emphasis on porous materials. It covers various essential aspects of multiphysics, from history, definition, and scope to mathematical theories, physical mechanisms, and numerical implementations. The emphasis on porous materials maximizes readers’ understanding as these substances are abundant in nature and a common breeding ground of multiphysical phenomena, especially complicated multiphysics. Dr. Liu’s lucid and easy-to-follow presentation serve as a blueprint on the use of multiphysics as a leading edge technique for computer modeling. The contents are organized to facilitate the transition from familiar, monolithic physics such as heat transfer and pore water movement to state-of-the-art applications involving multiphysics, including poroelasticity, thermohydro-mechanical processes, electrokinetics, electromagnetics, fluid dynamics, fluid structure interaction, and electromagnetomechanics. This volume serves as both a general reference and specific treatise for various scientific and engineering disciplines involving multiphysics simulation and porous materials.

Focusing on heat transfer in porous media, this book covers recent advances in nano and macro’ scales. Apart from introducing heat flux bifurcation and splitting within porous media, it highlights two-phase flow, nanofluids, wicking, and convection in bi-disperse porous media. New methods in modeling heat and transport in porous media, such as pore-scale analysis and Lattice–Boltzmann methods, are introduced. The book covers related engineering applications, such as enhanced geothermal systems, porous burners, solar systems, transpiration cooling in aerospace, heat transfer enhancement and electronic cooling, drying and soil evaporation, foam heat exchangers, and polymer-electrolyte fuel cells.