Track 5: Partially Saturated Porous Materials, Surface Effects and Adsorption

This publication is part of the proceedings of the Biot-Bažant Conference on Engineering Mechanics and Physics of Porous Materials, which took place virtually on June 1-3, 2021.

Partial saturation occurs in natural and man-made materials, such as in geological formation and concrete. It can be two-phase involving air and water, or multiphase with gas, water, and oil. The energy is contained not only in the phase volumes, but also in the interfaces, or the menisci. Its responses are hysteretic. Its modeling can involve mechanical, thermal, chemical, and electrochemical forces. In microporous and nanoporous materials, such as coal, clay, and zeolites, the picture is further complicated by the adsorption of fluid onto the surface, which can induce effects such as swelling and modify friction and surface tension. Important applications include slope stability, material failure, seismic wave propagation, hydrocarbon production, geosequestration, energy storage, concrete hydration, etc. This track seeks contributions on the modeling of these phenomena, and in particular, the constitutive models that enable applications. Other works on fundamental physics and applications are also welcome.

Concrete Chair: Gilles Pijaudier-Cabot (France)

Poromechanics Chair: Alex Cheng (USA)