Moisture absorption rates via capillary suction within packed beds

Images related to a published paper on moisture absorption rates via capillary action - effect of bed and fluid properties.  

Figure 1a: Illustration of surface tension effects using a fluid droplet on a solid surface

Figure 1b: Illustration of surface tension effects in a capillary of constant diameter

Figure 1c: Illustration of surface tension effects using liquid held between two spherical particles

Figure 2: Moisture retention mechanisms in a particle cluster with variable pore sizes

Figure 3a: Glass shards used as a packing material 

Figure 3b: Greywacke used as a packing material

Figure 3c: Malachite ore used as a packing material

Figure 4: Illustration of the experimental set-up used to conduct capillary suction tests on the packing materials

Figure 5: Effect of two parameters in an empirical model for fluid absorption rates via capillary suction

Figure 6: Bulk density and bed voidage data for the different packed bed systems

Figure 7: Experimental and model predicted values for the mass of soution absorbed during water capillary suction tests by packed beds composed of different materials and different sizes

Figure 8: Optimized model parameter values based on the fitting of the experimental data obtained from capillary suction tests on the different material beds using water as the testing fluid. 

Figure 9: Experimental and model predicted values for the mass of solutions of different viscosities absorbed during capillary suction tests on malachite ore bed with different particle sizes: (a) 0.1–0.5 mm, (b) 0.5–1.0 mm, (c) 1.0–2.0 mm and (d) 2.0–2.8 mm

Figure 10: Optimized model parameter values based on the fitting of the experimental data obtained from capillary suction tests on MO beds using different viscosity fluids.