The fractal dimension of a gas—liquid interface in a porous medium

Abstract An aqueous solution is drained by gravity from a vertical column filled up by a translucid porous medium. The dynamic behavior of the interface between the liquid and gas phase is briefly described; the final shape of the interface is shown to be fractal and its fractal dimension close to 2.3. A simple model for the motion of the interface in a random medium is derived; numerical simulations yield some universal features independent of the precise structure of the medium and some results close to the experimental ones.

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