Quantification of Flows Emerging From Small Pores in Plane Walls
Abstract
Current membrane separation processes are limited in high production and high purity settings due to a trade-off between selectivity and permeance. Methods of creating nanoscale geometries in 2D materials are emerging and present an opportunity for fast, size selective mass transport that can be tailored to a wide array of applications. This thesis develops a method for quantifying flow through small pores in plane walls based on the behaviour of a solute dispersed in a downstream reservoir. This method is validated for a range of micropore diameters, for which flow rates can be calculated with confidence, and is shown to provide accurate results up to a Reynolds number of 17. From an approximate control volume analysis, the method is shown to apply for both single pores and arrays of pores, making it a suitable candidate for future studies measuring flow rates through microscopic areas of nanoporous atomically thin membranes.