Research report 2015 - Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

Fluid invasion structures in porous media

Authors
Herminghaus, Stephan
Departments
Dynamik komplexer Fluide
Summary
The complex structures which emerge when a fluid invades a porous medium are of great relevance for many problems in the geosciences as well as in technology, engineering, and everyday life. Nevertheless, about fifty years of intense research have not been able to identify the dominant mechanisms at work. We have recently found that the solution is much simpler than anticipated. The mechanism is well hidden, but so elementary that high-school math is sufficient to come up with quantitative predictions.

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