(179w) Phase Discontinuity in Porous Media with Different Wetting Properties

When two porous media with different wetting properties are placed in contact the force balance requires the capillary pressure at the interface of the two media to be continuous. Since porous media with different wetting properties have different capillary pressure curves this leads to a phase discontinuity at the interface. Even though this boundary or interfacial condition is well established and has been used in many mathematical models, including fuel cell models, it has not been experimental demonstrated. This work shows two experiments that were conducted to visually demonstrate this interfacial phenomenon, one with small beads and another with fibers of different wetting properties.