Flows in porous media is a research area focused on the theoretical, computational, and experimental characterization of fluid motion through heterogeneous porous structures, governed primarily by Darcy’s law and its extensions to multiphase, non-Newtonian, and reactive systems. It integrates continuum mechanics, transport theory, and pore-scale physics to describe pressure-driven and capillarity-driven flows, dispersion, and phase interactions in materials such as soils, rocks, biological tissues, and engineered porous media. Core topics include upscaling from pore to continuum scales, effective permeability and porosity, coupling with heat and mass transport, and numerical simulation for applications in hydrogeology, petroleum engineering, carbon sequestration, and environmental remediation.
Looking at life today, it is difficult to imagine how complex biological processes and structures could have developed from simple building blocks. All cellular processes and reactions appear to be closely interdependent ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 26, 2025
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41
Even the best products won't meet expectations if they are packed poorly—packaging matters. The same goes for drug delivery. Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have uncovered the critical role played by solvents in ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 13, 2025
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39
Natural and engineered systems have a whole world of chemistry inside their tiny pores—known as nanopores—that changes depending on the chemical functional groups inside.
Nanomaterials
May 12, 2025
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24
A study led by Prof. Chen Hongsong from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has unveiled the mechanistic influence of soil thickness (as a representative litho-structural factor) ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 13, 2025
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18
Everyone knows it from their childhood days in the sandpit: sand is filtered using a sieve. Larger stones get stuck, while fine sand can fall through the sieve. The same principle is used when making coffee: water and aromatic ...
Nanomaterials
Sep 25, 2024
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54
When water gets inside nanopores with sizes below 10 nanometers, new physics emerge: new phases of ice were observed and ultrafast proton transport was measured. Confined water also plays a role in biology, where aquaporins ...
Nanophysics
Jul 25, 2024
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138
The natural vein structure found within leaves—which has inspired the structural design of porous materials that can maximize mass transfer—could unlock improvements in energy storage, catalysis, and sensing thanks to a new ...
Nanophysics
May 7, 2024
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157
A method based on CT (computed tomography)—a type of imaging that is widely used in hospitals—can help improve our understanding of CO2 storage, batteries, and processes in the body such as nutrient uptake.
Soft Matter
Apr 9, 2024
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138
Nanoporous membranes have been shown to be valuable tools for filtering out impurities from water and numerous other applications. However, there's still much work to be done in perfecting their designs. Recently, the lab ...
Nanomaterials
Feb 7, 2024
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133
Researchers from Osaka University investigated the thermal energy changes across nanopores that allow the selective flow of ions. Switching off the flow of ions in one direction led to a cooling effect. The findings have ...
Nanophysics
Dec 11, 2023
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101
