Modeling Ostwald Ripening Dynamics in Porous Microstructures
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866917389893894144 |
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| author | Laku, Md Zahidul Islam Salehpour, Mohammad Lan, Tian Zhao, Benzhong Mehmani, Yashar |
| author_facet | Laku, Md Zahidul Islam Salehpour, Mohammad Lan, Tian Zhao, Benzhong Mehmani, Yashar |
| contents | Partially miscible ganglia trapped in a porous medium evolve through Ostwald ripening, driven by differences in interfacial curvature. In practice, ganglia can span multiple pores and undergo discrete capillary events - invasion, snap-off, retraction, fragmentation, coalescence, and dislocation - that alter their topology and induce local flow. Existing pore-network models (PNMs) for ripening are limited to single-pore ganglia, assume idealized pore shapes, and operate under quasi-static conditions that preclude flow. We present an image-based pore-network model (iPNM) that removes these limitations. Unlike existing PNMs, iPNM requires no idealization of pore shapes, as the effect on capillarity is encoded locally in curvature-saturation curves computed via the pore-morphology method. iPNM couples two-phase flow, solute transport, and Ostwald ripening within a unified framework. We first verify iPNM against a prior quasi-static PNM, then validate it against recent high-resolution microfluidic experiments of hydrogen ripening in a sandstone-patterned micromodel over 15-24 days at 40C and 80C. Good agreement is obtained without adjustable parameters. Comparison with a continuum model shows that while macroscopic saturation is captured by both approaches, iPNM uniquely resolves population statistics, individual ganglion curvatures, and pre-equilibrium ripening dynamics within a representative elementary volume. Its computational efficiency over direct numerical simulation makes it suitable for guiding the development of improved theories of ripening in confined geometries. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_06581 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Modeling Ostwald Ripening Dynamics in Porous Microstructures Laku, Md Zahidul Islam Salehpour, Mohammad Lan, Tian Zhao, Benzhong Mehmani, Yashar Fluid Dynamics Geophysics Partially miscible ganglia trapped in a porous medium evolve through Ostwald ripening, driven by differences in interfacial curvature. In practice, ganglia can span multiple pores and undergo discrete capillary events - invasion, snap-off, retraction, fragmentation, coalescence, and dislocation - that alter their topology and induce local flow. Existing pore-network models (PNMs) for ripening are limited to single-pore ganglia, assume idealized pore shapes, and operate under quasi-static conditions that preclude flow. We present an image-based pore-network model (iPNM) that removes these limitations. Unlike existing PNMs, iPNM requires no idealization of pore shapes, as the effect on capillarity is encoded locally in curvature-saturation curves computed via the pore-morphology method. iPNM couples two-phase flow, solute transport, and Ostwald ripening within a unified framework. We first verify iPNM against a prior quasi-static PNM, then validate it against recent high-resolution microfluidic experiments of hydrogen ripening in a sandstone-patterned micromodel over 15-24 days at 40C and 80C. Good agreement is obtained without adjustable parameters. Comparison with a continuum model shows that while macroscopic saturation is captured by both approaches, iPNM uniquely resolves population statistics, individual ganglion curvatures, and pre-equilibrium ripening dynamics within a representative elementary volume. Its computational efficiency over direct numerical simulation makes it suitable for guiding the development of improved theories of ripening in confined geometries. |
| title | Modeling Ostwald Ripening Dynamics in Porous Microstructures |
| topic | Fluid Dynamics Geophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06581 |