A set of laboratory experiments has been carried out to determine if micro-needles (MNs) can enhance penetration depths of high-speed micro-particles delivered by a type of gene gun. The micro-particles were fired into a model target material, agarose gel, which was prepared to mimic the viscoelastic properties of porcine skin. The agarose gel was chosen as a model target as it can be prepared ...

An accurate reservoir characterization is a crucial task for the development of quantitative geological models and reservoir simulation. In the present research work, a novel view is presented on the reservoir characterization using the advantages of thin section image analysis and intelligent classification algorithms. The proposed methodology comprises three main steps. First, four classes of...

X-ray micro-computer aided tomography (μ-CT), together with optical microscopy and imaging, have been applied to the study of six moldavite samples. These techniques enabled a complete characterization to be made of the textural features of both Muong Nong-type and common splashform moldavites. A detailed study of the size and distribution of pores or bubbles confirmed the marked variability in...

We present a dynamic network model to investigate the effects of capillary number and viscosity ratio on displacement patterns and fractional flow in primary drainage. This model predicts the events that are observed in the micro-model experiments, such as swelling of the wetting layers and the meniscus oscillation. Interfaces are tracked through the pore elements using a modified Poiseuille eq...

The high porosity and microstructure of bio-aggregates are fundamental to their physical properties. Typically they have a low density and a complex pore structure. This has two principal effects. In the first instance, low density is associated with low strength, but also with low thermal conductivity. For this reason most bio-aggregates are not suitable for use as structural materials, but ar...

It is of interest in various scientific and industrial contexts to make a reliable estimation of the transport properties of porous media via more accessible probes such as NMR that yield information on static pore geometry and porosity. When the pore geometry is simple, there are empirical recipes that have long proven reliable in bridging the gap. For heterogeneous systems, such recipes fail ...

Methods of nonlocal density functional theory (NLDFT), proposed recently for predictions of adsorption equilibrium and calculations of pore size distributions in micro- and mesoporous materials, were tested on reference MCM-41 materials. Five newly synthesized MCM-41 adsorbents with presumably uniform pore channels varying from 32 to 45 Å were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen ...

Extremely low permeability due to nano-scale pores is a distinctive feature of gas transport in a shale matrix. The permeability of shale depends on pore pressure, porosity, pore throat size and gas type. The pore network model is a practical way to explain the macro flow behavior of porous media from a microscopic point of view. In this research, gas flow in a shale matrix is simulated using a...

The design of porous scaffolds able to promote and guide cell proliferation, colonization, and biosynthesis in three dimensions is key determinant in bone tissue engineering (bTE). The aim of this study was to assess the role of the micro-architecture of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) scaffolds in affecting human mesenchymal stem cells' (hMSCs) spatial organization, proliferation, and osteogenic di...