Improved Interpretation of Mercury Intrusion and Soil Water Retention Percolation Characteristics by Inverse Modelling and Void Cluster Analysis

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Matthews, G. P., Levy, C. L., Laudone, G. M., Jones, K. L., Ridgway, C. J., Hallin, I. L., Gazze, S. A., Francis, L., Whalley, W. R., Schoelkopf, J. and Gane, P. A. C. 2018. Improved Interpretation of Mercury Intrusion and Soil Water Retention Percolation Characteristics by Inverse Modelling and Void Cluster Analysis. Transport In Porous Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1087-1

AuthorsMatthews, G. P., Levy, C. L., Laudone, G. M., Jones, K. L., Ridgway, C. J., Hallin, I. L., Gazze, S. A., Francis, L., Whalley, W. R., Schoelkopf, J. and Gane, P. A. C.
Abstract

This work addresses two continuing fallacies in the interpretation of percolation characteristics of porous solids. The first is that the first derivative (slope) of the intrusion characteristic of the non-wetting fluid or drainage characteristic of the wetting fluid corresponds to the void size distribution, and the second is that the sizes of all voids can be measured. The fallacies are illustrated with the aid of the PoreXpert® inversemodelling package.Anewvoid
analysis method is then described, which is an add-on to the inverse modelling package and addresses the second fallacy. It is applied to three widely contrasting and challenging porous media. The first comprises two fine-grain graphites for use in the next-generation nuclear reactors. Their larger void sizes were measured by mercury intrusion, and the smallest by
using a grand canonical Monte Carlo interpretation of surface area measurement down to nanometre scale. The second application is to the mercury intrusion of a series of mixtures of ground calcium carbonate with powdered microporous calcium carbonate known as functionalised calcium carbonate (FCC). The third is the water retention/drainage characteristic of a soil sample which undergoes naturally occurring hydrophilic/hydrophobic transitions. The first-derivative approximation is shown to be reasonable in the interpretation of the mercury intrusion porosimetry of the two graphites, which differ only at low mercury intrusion pressures, but false for FCC and the transiently hydrophobic soil. The findings are supported
by other experimental characterisations, in particular electron and atomic force microscopy.

KeywordsVoid clusters; Mercury porosimetry; Functionalised calcium carbonate; Gilsocarbon graphite; Hydrophobic soil
Year of Publication2018
JournalTransport In Porous Media
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1087-1
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
Funder project or codeDesigning Future Wheat (DFW) [ISPG]
DFW - Designing Future Wheat - Work package 1 (WP1) - Increased efficiency and sustainability
NE/N018117/1
NE/K004212/1
NE/K004638/1
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online26 May 2018
Publication process dates
Accepted22 Mar 2018
PublisherSpringer
Copyright licenseCC BY
ISSN0169-3913

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