Egalitarianism among Bubbles in Porous Media: An Ostwald Ripening Derived Anticoarsening Phenomenon


Title

Egalitarianism among Bubbles in Porous Media: An Ostwald Ripening Derived Anticoarsening Phenomenon

Publication Type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2017
Journal
Physical Review Letters
Volume
119
Issue
26
Date Published
Jan-12-2017
Publication Language
eng
Citation Key
3144
ISSN
0031-9007
Abstract

We show that smaller gas bubbles grow at the expense of larger bubbles and all bubbles approach the same surface curvature after long times in porous media. This anticoarsening effect is contrary to typical Ostwald ripening and leads to uniformly sized bubbles in a homogeneous medium. Evolution dynamics of bubble populations were measured, and mathematical models were developed that fit the experimental data well. Ostwald ripening is shown to be the driving mechanism in this anticoarsening phenomenon; however, the relationship between surface curvature and bubble size determined by the pore-throat geometric confinement reverses the ripening direction

Short Title
Phys. Rev. Lett.