FRACTAL ANALYSIS OF EVAPORATION–IMBIBITION IN POROUS MEDIA INCLUDING GRAVITY

Evaporation–imbibition (E–I) of porous media is an important transport phenomenon in nature and engineering fields. In this paper, fractal models for E–I in porous media are derived based on the capillary bundle model and fractal geometry theory of porous media. This study analyzes the influences of the microstructural parameters of porous media, evaporation–capillarity (E–C) number, temperature difference, as well as liquid rise height on the E–I of porous media in detail. Moreover, good agreement between fractal model predictions and experimental data validates the present fractal models for the E–I of porous media. The proposed models may provide guidance for the analysis of liquid transport in oil recovery, soil science, paper, and textile treatment.