Work

Flow through porous media at the percolation transition

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We study low-Reynolds-number fluid flow through a two-dimensional porous medium modeled as a Lorentz gas. Using extensive finite-element simulations we fully resolve the flow fields for packing fractions approaching the percolation threshold. Near the percolation transition, we find a power-law scaling of the flow rate versus the packing fraction with an exponent of ≈ 5 / 2 , which was predicted earlier by mapping the macroscopic flow to a discrete flow network [B. I. Halperin , ]. Importantly, we observe a rounding of the scaling behavior at small system sizes, which can be rationalized via a finite-size scaling ansatz. Finally, we show that the distribution of the kinetic energy exhibits a power-law scaling over several decades at small energies, originating from collections of self-similar, viscous eddies in the dead-end channels. Our results lay the foundation for unraveling critical behavior of complex fluids omnipresent in biological and geophysical systems.

Source: Physical Review Research

DOI: 10.1103/physrevresearch.7.l012032

Authors: Mirko Residori, Suvendu Mandal, Axel Voigt, Christina Kurzthaler

Institutions: Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Technische Universität Dresden, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Physics of Life

Language: English

Topic: Theoretical and Computational Physics

Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,625

Funders: Technische Universität Dresden, Zentrum für Informationsdienste und Hochleistungsrechnen, Technische Universität Dresden