World record achieved in pore-scale flow simulations
An interdisciplinary research team, coordinated by Dr. Keijo Mattila from the University of Jyväskylä (JYU), Finland, has set a new world record in the field of fluid flow simulations in the pore scale (through porous materials). Using the world's largest 3D images of a porous material, that is, synthetic X-ray tomography images of the microstructure of Fontainebleau sandstone, the team succeeded in simulating fluid flow through a sample of the size of 1.5 cubic centimetres with a submicron resolution. This is an unprecedented resolution for the given sample size and corresponds to 16,3843 image voxels (voxel is the 3D analogue of pixel). To grasp the proportions, imagine that a common dice is cut into over 16 thousand slices and then each slice is photographed with a resolution exceeding the best we have in cinemas today.