Multiphase Flow in Deforming Porous Media: A Review

In this work we present a general model for the analysis of multiphase flow in deforming porous media with particular regard to concrete and biological tissues. Such problems are typically multi-physics ones with overlapping domains where diffusion, advection, adsorption, phase change, deformation, chemical reactions and other phenomena take place in the porous medium. For the analysis of such a complex system, the model here proposed is obtained from microscopic scale by applying the thermodynamically constrained averaging theory which guarantees the satisfaction of the second law of thermodynamics for all constituents both at micro and macro-level. Furthermore, one can obtain some important thermodynamic restrictions for the evolution equations describing the material deterioration. Two specific forms of the general model adapted to the cases of cementitious and biological materials respectively are shown. Some numerical simulations aimed at proving the validity of the approach adopted, are also presented and discussed.