Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline Membranes

The description of gas permeation across heterogeneous materials has been studied with many methods, mainly focusing on composites with high aspect ratios and low filler volume fractions. In the present work, the extension of these approaches to semicrystalline polymers is studied, considering a wid...

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Main Authors: Lorenzo Merlonghi, Marco Giacinti Baschetti, Maria Grazia De Angelis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Membranes
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/3/76
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author Lorenzo Merlonghi
Marco Giacinti Baschetti
Maria Grazia De Angelis
author_facet Lorenzo Merlonghi
Marco Giacinti Baschetti
Maria Grazia De Angelis
author_sort Lorenzo Merlonghi
collection DOAJ
description The description of gas permeation across heterogeneous materials has been studied with many methods, mainly focusing on composites with high aspect ratios and low filler volume fractions. In the present work, the extension of these approaches to semicrystalline polymers is studied, considering a wide range of crystalline volume fractions to tackle applications ranging from membranes to barrier materials. A numerical approach focused on tortuosity effects related to the presence of impermeable crystalline domains was considered. Algorithms based on random sequential adsorption and Voronoi tessellation were used to reproduce the morphology of semicrystalline polymers. The flux reduction across the microstructures generated due to the presence of impermeable crystals was calculated by solving local mass balance through a finite volume method. Using this strategy, it was possible to investigate the effect of crystallites’ arrangement, size distribution, orientation and shape on the relative permeability and the tortuosity of semicrystalline membranes. The results were analyzed considering existing macroscopic models and new analytical equations were proposed in order to account on such morphological effects for the prediction of the tortuosity in semicrystalline polymers.
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spelling doaj-art-0b1dbebc0ba34a41b8b5ffd8ee87f80c2025-08-20T02:42:22ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752025-03-011537610.3390/membranes15030076Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline MembranesLorenzo Merlonghi0Marco Giacinti Baschetti1Maria Grazia De Angelis2Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum–Università di Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum–Università di Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, ItalyDPI, P.O. Box 902, 5600 AX Eindhoven, The NetherlandsThe description of gas permeation across heterogeneous materials has been studied with many methods, mainly focusing on composites with high aspect ratios and low filler volume fractions. In the present work, the extension of these approaches to semicrystalline polymers is studied, considering a wide range of crystalline volume fractions to tackle applications ranging from membranes to barrier materials. A numerical approach focused on tortuosity effects related to the presence of impermeable crystalline domains was considered. Algorithms based on random sequential adsorption and Voronoi tessellation were used to reproduce the morphology of semicrystalline polymers. The flux reduction across the microstructures generated due to the presence of impermeable crystals was calculated by solving local mass balance through a finite volume method. Using this strategy, it was possible to investigate the effect of crystallites’ arrangement, size distribution, orientation and shape on the relative permeability and the tortuosity of semicrystalline membranes. The results were analyzed considering existing macroscopic models and new analytical equations were proposed in order to account on such morphological effects for the prediction of the tortuosity in semicrystalline polymers.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/3/76gas transport modellingsemicrystalline membranes
spellingShingle Lorenzo Merlonghi
Marco Giacinti Baschetti
Maria Grazia De Angelis
Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline Membranes
Membranes
gas transport modelling
semicrystalline membranes
title Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline Membranes
title_full Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline Membranes
title_fullStr Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline Membranes
title_full_unstemmed Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline Membranes
title_short Modelling Gas Transport in Multiphasic Materials: Application to Semicrystalline Membranes
title_sort modelling gas transport in multiphasic materials application to semicrystalline membranes
topic gas transport modelling
semicrystalline membranes
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/3/76
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AT marcogiacintibaschetti modellinggastransportinmultiphasicmaterialsapplicationtosemicrystallinemembranes
AT mariagraziadeangelis modellinggastransportinmultiphasicmaterialsapplicationtosemicrystallinemembranes