Critical bursts in filtration

Abstract

Particle detachment bursts during the flow of suspensions through porous media are a phenomenon that can severely affect the efficiency of deep bed filters. Despite the relevance in several industrial fields, little is known about the statistical properties and the temporal organization of these events. We present experiments of suspensions of deionized water carrying quartz particles pushed with a peristaltic pump through a filter of glass beads measuring simultaneously pressure drop, flux and suspension solid fraction. We find that the burst size distribution scales consistently with a power-law, suggesting that we are in the presence of a novel experimental realization of a self-organized critical system. Temporal correlations are present in the time series, alike in other phenomena as earthquakes or neuronal activity bursts, and also an analog to Omori's law can be shown. The understanding of bursts statistics could provide novel insights in different fields, e.g. in filter and petroleum industries.