Porennetz

Porennetz, or pore network, is a modeling approach used to represent the pore space within a porous material as a network of pores (nodes) connected by throats (links). Each node corresponds to a pore body with a characteristic radius, and each link to a constriction linking neighboring pores. The network can be reconstructed from micro-CT images or generated synthetically to resemble statistical properties such as pore-size distribution, coordination number, and connectivity.

In a typical Porennetz model, fluids occupy the pore space and flows are simulated at the pore scale. Governing relations often incorporate capillary pressure–saturation behavior derived from the Young–Laplace law for capillary entry pressures, along with viscous flow in throats (often approximated by Poiseuille flow). The model can simulate drainage and imbibition, including hysteresis and snap-off events, and may include dynamic effects for transient processes. Boundary conditions define fluid reservoirs or imposed pressures and flow rates.

From the simulated pore-scale distributions, bulk properties such as intrinsic permeability, relative permeability curves, and phase distributions can be upscaled to predict macroscopic behavior. Porennetz models are widely used to study multiphase flow in porous media where pore-scale effects are important, and they provide a link between microstructure and continuum-scale properties.

Applications span several fields. In petroleum engineering, they support studies of reservoir wettability and enhanced oil recovery. In hydrogeology, they aid understanding of groundwater flow and contaminant transport. In materials science, they are used to analyze porous catalysts, cementitious materials, and filtration membranes. Limitations include computational cost for large three-dimensional networks, sensitivity to network topology and constitutive assumptions, and challenges in accurately representing complex pore geometries. Despite these, Porennetz remains a valuable tool for connecting pore-scale phenomena to bulk material behavior.