Title:
Bio-Inspired Porous Network Topology for Optimal Injection and Withdrawal Processes in Soils

dc.contributor.author Arson, Chloé
dc.contributor.author Santamarina, J. Carlos
dc.contributor.corporatename Georgia Institute of Technology. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2014-06-10T14:13:36Z
dc.date.available 2014-06-10T14:13:36Z
dc.date.issued 2014-02
dc.description Presented at Geo-Congress 2014, Atlanta, GA, February 23-26, 2014.
dc.description Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Civil Engineers
dc.description DOI: 10.1061/9780784413272.385
dc.description.abstract Bronchi, arteries and veins, tree branches and roots, exhibit a fractal topology, i.e. networks formed by channels that successively split in to smaller channels. A thorough literature review shows that self-similar topologies justify most empirical power laws encountered in nature and engineering design. Fractal models match but do not explain observations. Is the fractal topology optimal for all transport processes taking place between a porous system and a host medium? According to the constructal theory, the topology of a flow system should optimize an energy potential. The underlying assumption is that any network should have a purpose, a configuration and constraints. The main theoretical assumptions and developments of the constructal theory are presented. The thermal efficiency of an isolated heat exchanger pile is analyzed for different topologies. Simulations show that slender network components are preferable to isotropic topologies only if the contrast between soil and pile thermal conductivities is between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude. The orientation of fragmentation of the heat exchanger should also depend on potential variations of thermal properties across soil layers. The applicability and limitations of the constructal theory to optimize injection and withdrawal processes in soils is discussed. en_US
dc.embargo.terms null en_US
dc.identifier.citation Arson, C. and Santamarina, J. (2014) Bio-Inspired Porous Network Topology for Optimal Injection and Withdrawal Processes in Soils. Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers: pp. 3969-3976. doi: 10.1061/9780784413272.385 en_US
dc.identifier.doi 10.1061/9780784413272.385
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/51971
dc.language.iso en_US en_US
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject Fractal models en_US
dc.subject Fractal topology en_US
dc.subject Transport processes en_US
dc.subject Soil layers en_US
dc.title Bio-Inspired Porous Network Topology for Optimal Injection and Withdrawal Processes in Soils en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Post-print
dc.type.genre Proceedings
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.author Santamarina, J. Carlos
local.contributor.author Arson, Chloé
local.contributor.corporatename School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename College of Engineering
relation.isAuthorOfPublication b2384ae5-0372-4d9a-ac49-9eaf26604d75
relation.isAuthorOfPublication ce5325f0-830f-4636-bc90-7527fd99005b
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 88639fad-d3ae-4867-9e7a-7c9e6d2ecc7c
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
2014_02_GeoCongress_bioporo.pdf
Size:
427.44 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
3.13 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: