Particle-Size-Exclusion Clogging Regimes in Porous Media

Gaétan Gerber (1, 2) , Stéphane Rodts (1) , Patrick Aimedieu (1) , Pamela Françoise Faure (1) , Philippe Coussot (1)

1 navier umr 8205 - Laboratoire Navier
2 Harvard University

From observations of the progressive deposition of noncolloidal particles by geometrical exclusion effects inside a 3D model porous medium, we get a complete dynamic view of particle deposits over a full range of regimes from transport over a long distance to clogging and caking. We show that clogging essentially occurs in the form of an accumulation of elements in pore size clusters, which ultimately constitute regions avoided by the flow. The clusters are dispersed in the medium, and their concentration (number per volume) decreases with the distance from the entrance; caking is associated with the final stage of this effect (for a critical cluster concentration at the entrance). A simple probabilistic model, taking into account the impact of clogging on particle transport, allows us to quantitatively predict all these trends up to a large cluster concentration, based on a single parameter: the clogging probability, which is a function of the confinement ratio. This opens the route towards a unification of the different fields of particle transport, clogging, caking, and filtration.

Mots clés: Clogging; Flows in porous media; Sediment transport

Domaines: Matériaux

Gaétan Gerber, Stéphane Rodts, Patrick Aimedieu, Pamela Françoise Faure, Philippe Coussot. Particle-Size-Exclusion Clogging Regimes in Porous Media. Physical Review Letters, 2018, 120 (14), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.148001⟩. ⟨hal-02912560⟩