Use of X-ray micro-computed tomography for the investigation of drying processes in porous media: A review

Abstract

Drying processes in porous materials and their optimization are of interest in research and in many industrial applications. X-ray micro-computed tomography presents a versatile instrument for the experimental investigation of those processes in three-dimensional on a microscopic level. In this review article, the basic principles of the technique shall be elucidated and an overview of the existing literature shall be given. Published studies performed with laboratory-based tomography setups and at synchrotrons are included alike. Different experimental workflows and their limitations with focus on the investigation of drying processes are considered, as well as the further usability of the obtained data and insights for the validation of analytical models and numerical simulations. The number of publications on this topic has greatly increased in the early 2000s and there is still research demand.

Keywords:

• X-ray micro-computed tomography
• drying
• porous media
• evaporation
• review article

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for funding the International Research Training Group “Droplet Interaction Technologies” (DROPIT) and the SFB 1313 “Interface-Driven Multi-Field Processes in Porous Media – Flow, Transport and Deformation” of the University of Stuttgart. This article was written in the framework of those two projects.