Water transfer and crack regimes in nanocolloidal gels Article Swipe

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Materials science Homogeneous Saturation (graph theory) Nanoscopic scale Capillary action Porosity Composite material Mass transfer Chemical physics Mechanics Nanotechnology Chemistry Thermodynamics Physics Combinatorics Mathematics

J. Thiery , Stéphane Rodts , Emmanuel Keita , Xavier Château , Pierre Faure , Denis Courtier‐Murias , Thomas E. Kodger , P. Coussot ·

YOU? · · 2015 · Open Access · · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.91.042407 · OA: W2152495889

Direct observations of the surface and shape of model nanocolloidal gels associated with measurements of the spatial distribution of water content during drying show that air starts to significantly penetrate the sample when the material stops shrinking. We show that whether the material fractures or not during desiccation, as air penetrates the porous body, the water saturation decreases but remains almost homogeneous throughout the sample. This air invasion is at the origin of another type of fracture due to capillary effects; these results provide insight into the liquid dynamics at the nanoscale.