Time-resolved phase-contrast microtomographic imaging of two-phase solid–liquid flow through porous media

Abstract

Abstract Time-resolved microtomography with high frame rate, high lateral resolution and sufficiently high contrast allows for observing three-dimensional motion of particles in two-phase solid–liquid flows through porous structures. Knowledge of the interaction between the particles and an activated surface of the pore space is important for simulation of the flow as a part of the design of porous structures with improved properties. Investigations on such structures are, for example, a prerequisite for the development of new technologies for industrial cell chromatography. From the 3D image sequences obtained by time-resolved microtomography it is possible to estimate various flow characteristics such as the particle deposition rate at the surface of the pore space and the fraction of particles moving close to the surface.