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A Microfluidic Platform to Study Bioclogging in Porous Media
Published on: October 13, 2022
A deterministic platform for engineering interfacial phenomena in porous media using artificially structured rough
Saeed Golshokooh1, Mohammad Simjoo2, Mohammad Chahardowli3
1Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran.
Scientific Reports
|June 10, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to control surface roughness in porous materials. This breakthrough allows for precise study of interfacial phenomena in energy recovery, carbon sequestration, and water purification.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Geophysics
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Surface roughness significantly influences interfacial phenomena in natural and engineered porous media.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for energy recovery, carbon sequestration, and water purification.
- Current limitations in laboratory control of surface topography hinder mechanistic studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel materials platform for deterministic control over surface roughness in porous media.
- To enable systematic investigation of how controlled topography affects multiphase flow.
- To bridge the gap between natural surface complexity and idealized models.
Main Methods:
- Thermal sintering of glass beads to create artificial thin sections.
- A semi-immersion technique for precise sectioning and interfacial measurements.
- Establishing quantitative scaling laws linking bead size to roughness amplitude and morphology.
Main Results:
- Bead size was shown to directly control roughness amplitude and morphology.
- Controlled topography induced transitions between Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter wettability states.
- Contact-line pinning and capillary trapping were governed by the engineered surface roughness.
Conclusions:
- The developed platform offers tunable and reproducible control over surface roughness.
- This enables systematic studies of multiphase flow phenomena.
- Facilitates tailored engineering of porous media for diverse applications.
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