Microstructural Origin of Propagating Compaction Patterns in Porous Media

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Materials Science
• Physics of Complex Systems

Background:

• Diverse porous materials (rocks, foams, cereals, snow) exhibit common compaction patterns, such as propagating or stationary bands.
• The origins of these patterns are debated, with current models relying on material-specific empirical laws.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify a universal mechanism underlying diverse compaction patterns in porous materials.
• To develop a unified model applicable across different structured porous geometries.

Main Methods:

• Development of a generic model for inelastic structured porous geometries.
• Analysis of pore collapse dynamics within this generalized framework.

Main Results:

• Demonstration that a universal process of pore collapse drives the observed compaction patterns.
• Identification of two dimensionless numbers (material strength and loading rate) that map the diversity of observed patterns.
• Mapping of pattern diversity within a phase space defined by these two dimensionless numbers.

Conclusions:

• Compaction patterns in porous materials are governed by a universal pore collapse mechanism, not material-specific processes.
• The observed diversity in patterns can be systematically explained and predicted using a simple phase space based on material strength and loading rate.