Phase coexistence in consolidating porous media

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-field second gradient model to analyze phase coexistence in saturated porous media, revealing non-monotonic interfaces under certain conditions, which enhances understanding of fluid-rich phase appearance during consolidation.

Contribution

The study develops a novel two-field second gradient model that captures complex interface behaviors in porous media during phase coexistence, advancing previous models.

Findings

Identification of non-monotonic interface profiles at coexistence

Demonstration of phase coexistence under specific parameter conditions

Enhanced modeling of fluid-rich phase emergence in porous media

Abstract

The appearence of the fluid-rich phase in saturated porous media under the effect of an external pressure is investigated. For this purpose we introduce a two field second gradient model allowing the complete description of the phenomenon. We study the coexistence profile between poor and rich fluid phases and we show that for a suitable choice of the parameters non-monotonic interfaces show-up at coexistence.