title: Water transfer and crack regimes in nanocolloidal gels.
abstract: Direct observations of the surface and shape of model nanocolloidal gels associated with measurements of the spatial distribution of water content during drying show that air starts to significantly penetrate the sample when the material stops shrinking. We show that whether the material fractures or not during desiccation, as air penetrates the porous body, the water saturation decreases but remains almost homogeneous throughout the sample. This air invasion is at the origin of another type of fracture due to capillary effects; these results provide insight into the liquid dynamics at the nanoscale.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Navier (ENPC-CNRS-IFSTTAR), Université Paris-Est, Paris, France.|Experimental Soft Matter Group, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thiery
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Navier (ENPC-CNRS-IFSTTAR), Université Paris-Est, Paris, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodts
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Navier (ENPC-CNRS-IFSTTAR), Université Paris-Est, Paris, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Keita
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Navier (ENPC-CNRS-IFSTTAR), Université Paris-Est, Paris, France.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chateau
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Navier (ENPC-CNRS-IFSTTAR), Université Paris-Est, Paris, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Faure
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Navier (ENPC-CNRS-IFSTTAR), Université Paris-Est, Paris, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Courtier-Murias
authors.affiliation: Experimental Soft Matter Group, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Kodger
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Navier (ENPC-CNRS-IFSTTAR), Université Paris-Est, Paris, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coussot