Estimating the interfacial permeability for flow into a poroelastic medium.

Area of Science:

• Porous Media Physics
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Modeling fluid flow in porous media is challenging, especially for deformable poroelastic materials like hydrogels.
• Existing interfacial permeability conditions often rely on phenomenological parameters.
• Accurate boundary conditions are essential for reliable simulations of fluid-solid interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the interfacial permeability parameter (η) for poroelastic materials.
• To establish a method for evaluating η based on pore-scale characteristics.
• To enable more realistic flow simulations in various poroelastic materials.

Main Methods:

• Developed pore-scale flow models using periodic arrays of solid cylinders or parallel holes.
• Simulated fluid flow through these idealized porous structures.
• Analyzed simulation results to derive the interfacial permeability (η).

Main Results:

• Successfully determined the interfacial permeability (η) as a function of pore size and porosity.
• Provided a quantitative relationship for evaluating η.
• Validated the approach for a range of poroelastic material properties.

Conclusions:

• The study offers a physics-based approach to determine interfacial permeability, moving beyond phenomenological parameters.
• This work enables more accurate and realistic fluid flow simulations in deformable porous media.
• The findings are applicable to hydrogels, foams, and biological tissues, advancing their modeling capabilities.