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Impact of saturation edge and breakthrough effects on colloid distribution during slow drying in a thin porous medium

Marc Prat1, Pierluigi Arnelli2, Michel Quintard1, and Joel Pauchet2

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 074301 – Published 13 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/kc34-s23s

Abstract

Slow drying of a thin porous medium containing a colloidal dispersion is studied from numerical simulations developed within the framework of the continuum approach to porous media. The modeling considers two effects, referred to as the edge and breakthrough effects, affecting the saturation profiles during slow drying in thin systems. These effects result in different saturations compared to the bulk saturation in the vicinity of the porous medium limiting surfaces, lower near the top surface exposed to evaporation, and larger near the solid wall at the porous medium bottom. The impact of both effects on the colloid distribution over the thickness during drying is studied, and comparisons are performed with the standard case not considering these effects. Simulations indicate markedly more uniform colloid spatial distributions as the result of both effects compared to the predictions of the standard model. This holds in the presence of colloid adsorption phenomena on the pore wall and when adsorption is neglected.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 074301– Published 13 July, 2026
  • Received 11 February 2026
  • Accepted 16 June 2026
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