Research Structure and Management

So far, experiments have struggled to accurately disentangle relations between porous-medium, interface and free-flow properties and processes. Hence, application scenarios often suffer from uncertainty in characterising natural heterogeneities and from uncontrollable and highly dynamic boundary conditions. The same scarcity of data also leads to an inability to test and refine underlying theories in fundamental research. Therefore, we will conduct carefully controlled multi-scale experimental investigations that include the interfaces and link the pore scale to the REV scale. We will use these experiments to identify the relevant processes on the different scales and to test and validate the new model concepts.

The experiments within Project Area C focus on porosity-permeability relations. In particular, dynamic changes in porosity and associated changes in pore-water-velocity distributions with MRI and XRCT in order to determine permeability changes will be investigated.

Experiments on salt precipitation during evaporation and Microbially-Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) in porous glass-bead systems will be carried out using micro-fluidic cells in collaboration with the Center for Biofilm  Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, USA.

Investigating the effects of injecting bone cement into a porous structure will be done in close collaboration with the AO Foundation, Davos, Switzerland. All experimental studies will serve as the driving force behind developing methodologies for the image-based estimation of pore parameters and validating the newly derived upscaling concepts for effective REV-scale parameterisations.

Benchmarks, Computing, Visualisation

Benchmarks need to be developed to assist in the validation of the new and often highly complex computational models which are developed within this SFB. Many projects require an extension of the software capabilities. In order to be beneficial to the scientific community these extensions should be achieved in a sustainable manner with appropriate re-use of already existing software packages, made accessible to the community on an open-source basis. Additionally, many projects and experiments need advanced visualization techniques adapted to the complexity of fine-scaled geometries in multi-physics multi-scale problems.