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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Quantifying Mixing using Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: January 25, 2012
NMR imaging of liquid distributions inside coated paper during synchronized imbibition and swelling
A W B P Reijnier1, S J F Erich2, N Tomozeiu3
1Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Applied Physics and Science Education, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the Netherlands.
Hypothesis:
Liquid imbibition into coated paper is a complex process that strongly depends on the specific liquid and porous substrate of interest. Without coating, the timescales of capillary liquid uptake and paper swelling will be separated. However, a coupling between imbibition and swelling is expected in the presence of a coating. Understanding how liquid imbibes and how it reacts to different liquids is crucial to control liquid-substrate interactions.
Experiments:
For the first time, a systematic study of the imbibition of water-glycerol mixtures into a complex layered porous medium like coated paper is performed using the Ultra Fast Imaging Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (UFI-NMR) method. This method allows to follow the in-situ liquid distributions over time. The effect of the coating is investigated by comparing the imbibition processes into paper with and without a coating.
Findings:
Liquid imbibition into coated paper is different from paper without a coating due to the flow resistance induced by the low permeability of the coating layer. It was concluded that liquid uptake and paper swelling are synchronized, and occurs locally at the tip of the liquid front. This is significantly different from liquid imbibition in uncoated paper, where liquid penetrates quickly and later swelling occurs more homogeneously throughout the paper. Moreover, it has been shown that both the imbibition and swelling speed are determined by viscosity. Consequently, Darcy's law for unsaturated flow still holds in this complex layered medium. This knowledge gets us a step closer to controlling liquid-media interactions in many different applications.
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