Finite element analysis of electric double layer capacitors using a transient nonlinear Nernst-Planck-Poisson (NPP) model and Nernst-Planck-Poisson-modified Stern layer (NPPMS) model are presented in 1D and 2D. The NPP model provided unrealistic ion concentrations for high electrode surface potential. The NPPMS model uses a modified Stern layer to account for finite ion size, resulting in realistic ion concentrations even at high surface potential. The finite element solution algorithm uses the Newton-Raphson method to solve the nonlinear problem and the alpha family approximation for time integration to solve the NPP and NPPMS models for transient cases. Cubic Hermite elements are used for interfacing the modified Stern and diffuse layers in 1D while serendipity elements are used for the same in 2D. Effects of the surface potential and bulk molarity on the electric potential and ion concentrations are studied. The ability of the models to predict energy storage capacity is investigated and the predicted solutions from the 1D NPP and NPPMS models are compared for various cases. It is observed that NPPMS model provided realistic and correct results for low and high values of surface potential. Furthermore, the 1D NPPMS model is extended into 2D. The pore structure on the electrode surface, the electrode surface area and its geometry are important factors in determining the performance of the electric double layer capacitor. Thus 2D models containing a porous electrode are modeled and analyzed for understanding of the behavior of the electric double layer capacitor. The effect of pore radius and pore depth on the predicted electric potential, ion concentrations, surface charge density, surface energy density, and charging time are discussed using the 2D Nernst-Planck-Poissonmodified Stern layer (NPPMS) model.

In this thesis a method is presented for the modelling the effects of the excluded volume (ion-ion) and ion excess polarisability (ion-solvent) interactions in an electrolyte at a smooth planar electrode. The impact of these interactions is studied in terms of the equilibrium state of single and mixed electrolytes, the dynamic response of single electrolytes to a time-dependent applied potential, and their effect on the reaction rate, for both steady and time-dependent applied potentials. For reacting systems, the reaction rate is modelled using a modified form of the Frumkin-Butler-Volmer equation, in which the interactions are explicitly accounted for. At equilibrium, the model offers improvement over models which only account for the excluded volume interaction, in terms of both the predicted electrolyte structure and the electrical properties of the electrode. For example accounting for the polarisability interaction is shown to limit and then reverse the growth in the differential capacitance at the point of zero charge as the bulk concentration increases, an effect is not seen when only the excluded volume interaction is accounted for. Another example is for mixed electrolytes, in which accounting for the polarisability interaction leads to better agreement with experimental data regarding the composition of the double layer. For the response of an electrolyte to a potential step, the two interactions both lead to peaks in the time taken to reach equilibrium as a function of the potential. The effect of the domain length on the equilibration time is qualitatively discussed, together with the differences between the two interaction models. The response to a time-dependent potential is analysed through simulated electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and consideration of the capacitance dispersion effect. Between this and the potential step response data it is shown that the interactions themselves have little direct effect on the dynamic processes beyond the way in which they limit the ion concentrations in the double layer and alter the differential capacitance of the system. The investigation of the effect of the ion interactions on the reaction rate shows that both terms can either increase or decrease the rate, relative to a system with no interactions, depending on the details of the reaction and the applied potential. This is linked to the changes in the electric field within the double layer, which are caused by the interactions, and how this affects the reactant flux in that region. In terms of simulated EIS, deviations are observed relative to the equivalent circuit for the system, the reasons for which are discussed.

Dans cette thèse j’étudie l’impact de la géométrie de micro et nano-domaines biologiques sur les propriétés d'électrodiffusion, ceci à l'aide des équations aux dérivées partielles de Poisson-Nernst-Planck. Je considère des domaines non-triviaux ayant une forme cuspide ou elliptique. Mon objectif est de développer des modèles ainsi que des méthodes mathématiques afin d'étudier les caractéristiques électriques de ces nano/micro-domaines, et ainsi mieux comprendre comment les signaux électriques sont modulés à ces échelles. Dans la première partie j’étudie le voltage à l'équilibre pour un électrolyte dans un domaine borné, et ayant un fort excès de charges positives. Je montre que le premier temps de sortie dans une boule chargée dépend de la surface et non du volume. J’étudie ensuite la géométrie composées d'une boule à laquelle est attachée un domaine cuspide. Je construis ensuite une solution asymptotique pour le voltage dans les cas 2D et 3D et je montre qu’ils sont donnés au premier ordre par la même expression. Enfin, j’obtiens la même conclusion en considérant une géométrie formée d'une ellipse, dont je construis une solution asymptotique du voltage en 2D et 3D. La seconde partie porte sur la modélisation de la compartimentalisation électrique des épines dendritiques. A partir de simulations numériques, je mets en évidence le lien entre la polarisation de concentration dans l'épine et sa géométrie. Je compare ensuite mon modèle à des données de microscopie. Je développe une méthode de déconvolution pour extraire la dynamique rapide du voltage à partir des données de microscopie. Enfin j’estime la résistance du cou et montre que celle-ci ne suit pas la loi d'Ohm. / In this PhD I study how electro-diffusion within biological micro and nano-domains is affected by their shapes using the Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) partial differential equations. I consider non-trivial shapes such as domains with cusp and ellipses. Our goal is to develop models, as well as mathematical tools, to study the electrical properties of micro and nano-domains, to understand better how electrical neuronal signaling is regulated at those scales. In the first part I estimate the steady-state voltage inside an electrolyte confined in a bounded domain, within which we assume an excess of positive charge. I show the mean first passage time in a charged ball depends on the surface and not on the volume. I further study a geometry composed of a ball with an attached cusp-shaped domain. I construct an asymptotic solution for the voltage in 2D and 3D and I show that to leading order expressions for the voltage in 2D and 3D are identical. Finally, I obtain similar conclusion considering an elliptical-shaped domain for which I construct an asymptotic solution for the voltage in 2D and 3D. In the second part, I model the electrical compartmentalization in dendritic spines. Based on numerical simulations, I show how spines non-cylindrical geometry leads to concentration polarization effects. I then compare my model to experimental data of microscopy imaging. I develop a deconvolution method to recover the fast voltage dynamic from the data. I estimate the neck resistance, and we found that, contrary to Ohm's law, the spine neck resistance can be inversely proportional to its radius.

Les mécanismes produisant les signaux observés par la méthode de Polarisation Provoquée (PP) sur une large gamme de fréquences (entre 1 mHz et 20 kHz) ne sont pas encore complètement identifiés. Deux sujets particuliers ont été abordés dans cette thèse. L'origine du signal observé à haute fréquence (>1 kHz) a été analysé en effectuant des mesures de la résistivité complexe sur de l'eau à différentes salinités. Les résultats montrent des écarts sur la phase par rapport à la réponse attendue à haute fréquence. Ils dépendent du type d'électrode de mesures et de la conductivité du milieu. Un modèle basé sur un circuit électrique équivalent a été proposé pour modéliser ces effets. Nous avons aussi exploré le mécanisme responsable de la polarisation en présence de grains semi-conducteurs en analysant la dépendance de temps de relaxation. La réponse spectrale d'un milieu sableux saturé a été étudiée en variant la concentration et le type de l'électrolyte, la taille, le type et la quantité de grains semi-conducteurs insérés. En utilisant la méthode des éléments finis, nous avons entrepris une simulation numérique 2D basée sur la solution des équations de Poisson-Nernst-Planck dans le domaine temporel et spectral. Les résultats expérimentaux sont conformes à ceux issus de la simulation numérique et montrent une décroissance comparable du temps de relaxation avec l'augmentation de la concentration de l'électrolyte. Finalement, une campagne géophysique de terrain sur un site paléo-miniers contenant des grains semi-conducteurs complète l'approche de laboratoire. Des mesures de PP temporelles permettent de délimiter les zones de scories sur le site et d'en estimer le volume. / The physical mechanisms responsible for the induced polarization response over the frequency range (from 1 mHz to 20 kHz) are not completely understood. In particular, within the framework of this thesis, two subjects have been addressed. The origin of the signal observed at high frequency (HF) (>1 kHz) was analyzed by carrying out Spectral IP measurements on tap water samples. A phase deviation from the expected response has been observed at HF. The resulted deviation in phase appears to be dependent on the measuring electrode type (potential electrodes) and conductivity of the medium. A model based on an equivalent electrical circuit and designed to represent HF response, has been proposed to correct these effects. The mechanism responsible for the polarization in a medium containing semi-conductor grains has been investigated by analyzing the dependence of the relaxation time. We carried out experimental measurements on a sand medium containing different types of semi-conductors. The spectral response was studied by varying the concentration and type of the electrolyte, the size and content of semi-conductor grains. By using the finite element method, a 2D numerical simulation based on Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations was performed in time and frequency domains. The experimental results are qualitatively in accordance with numerical simulation. It showed a comparable decrease in the relaxation time when increasing the electrolyte concentration. Finally, field measurements on a paleo-mining site containing semi-conductor grains have been acquired. Time-domain IP measurements allowed us to define the zones of slag in the site and led to estimate the slag volume.

Estimation of effective diffusion coefficients is essential to be able to describe the diffusive transport of solutes in porous media. It has been shown in theory that in the case of uncharged porous materials the effective diffusion coefficient of solutes is a function of the pore morphology of the material and can be described by their tortuosity (tensor). To estimate the apparent diffusion coefficients, the values of tortuosity and porosity should be known first. In contrast with calculation of porosity, which can be easily obtained, estimation of tortuosity is intricate, particularly with increasing micro-geometry complexity in porous media. Moreover, many engineering materials (e.g, clays and shales) are characterized by electrical surface charges on particles of the porous material which can strongly affect the diffusive transport properties of ions. For these materials, estimation of effective diffusion coefficients have been mostly based on phenomenological equations with no link to underlying microscale properties of these charged materials although a few recent studies have used alternative methods to obtain the diffusion parameters. / In the first part of this thesis a numerical method based on a recently proposed up-scaled Poisson-Nernst-Planck type of equation (PNP) and its microscale counterpart is employed to estimate the tortuosity and thus the effective and apparent diffusion coefficients in thin charged membranes. Beside this, a new mathematical approach for estimation of tortuosity is applied and validated. This mathematical approach is also derived while upscaling of micro-scale Poisson-Nernst-Planck system of equations using the volume averaging method. A variety of different pore 2D and 3D micro-geometries together with different electrochemical conditions are studied here. To validate the new approaches, the relation between porosity and tortuosity has been obtained using a multi-scale approach and compared with published results. These include comparison with the results from a recently developed numerical method that is based on macro and micro-scale PNP equations. / Results confirm that the tortuosity value is the same for porous media with electrically uncharged and charged particles but only when using a consistent set of PNP equations. The effects of charged particles are captured by the ratio of average concentration to effective intrinsic concentration in the macroscopic PNP equations. Using this ratio allows to consistently take into account electro-chemical interactions of ions and charges on particles and so excludes any ambiguity generally encountered in phenomenological equations. / Steady-state diffusion studies dominate this thesis; however, understanding of transient ion transport in porous media is also important. The last section of this thesis briefly introduces transient diffusion through bentonite. To do so, the micro Nernst-Planck equation with electro-neutrality condition (NPE) is solved for a porous medium which consists of compacted bentonite. This system has been studied before in another research using an experimental approach and the results are available for both transient and steady-state phases. Three different conditions are assumed for NPE governing equations and then the numerical results from these three conditions are compared to the experimental values and analytical phenomenological solution. The tortuosity is treated as a fitting parameter and the effective diffusion coefficient can be calculated based on these tortuosity values. The results show that including a sorption term in the NPE equations can render similar results as the experimental values in transient and steady state phases. Also, as a fitting parameter, the tortuosity values were found varying with background concentration. This highlights the need to monitor multiple diffusing ion fluxes and membrane potential to fully characterize electro-diffusive transport from fundamental principles (which have been investigated in first part of this thesis) rather than phenomenological equations for predictive studies. / This research has lead to two different journal articles submissions, one already accepted in Computers and Geotechnics (October 22, 2009, 5-yrs Impact Factor 0.884) and the other one still under review.

We consider three different phenomena governing the fluid flow in the presence of charged particles: electroconvection in fluids, electroconvection in porous media, and electrodiffusion. Electroconvecton in fluids is mathematically represented by a nonlinear drift-diffusion partial differential equation describing the time evolution of a surface charge density in a two-dimensional incompressible fluid. The velocity of the fluid evolves according to Navier-Stokes equations forced nonlinearly by the electrical forces due to the presence of the charge density. The resulting model is reminiscent of the quasi-geostrophic equation, where the main difference resides in the dependence of the drift velocity on the charge density. When the fluid flows through a porous medium, the velocity and the electrical forces are related according to Darcy’s law, which yields a challenging doubly nonlinear and doubly nonlocal model describing electroconvection in porous media. A different type of particle-fluid interaction, called electrodiffusion, is also considered. This latter phenomenon is described by nonlinearly advected and nonlinearly forced continuity equations tracking the time evolution of the concentrations of many ionic species having different valences and diffusivities and interacting with an incompressible fluid. This work is based on [1, 2, 3] and addresses the global well-posedness, long-time dynamics, and other features associated with the aforementioned three models. REFERENCES:[1] E. Abdo, M. Ignatova, Long time dynamics of a model of electroconvection, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 374 (2021), 5849–5875. [2] E. Abdo, M. Ignatova, Long Time Finite Dimensionality in Charged Fluids, Nonlinearity 34 (9) (2021), 6173–6209. [3] E. Abdo, M. Ignatova, On Electroconvection in Porous Media, to appear in Indiana University Mathematics Journal (2023). / Mathematics

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Es besteht enormes Interesse den Stofftransport in nanoskaligen Systemen zu verstehen und selektiv zu steuern, um analytische und synthetische Anwendungen zu entwickeln, aber auch um die physiologischen Prozesse lebender Zellen zu entschlüsseln. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde der Einfluss der elektrochemischen Doppelschicht an ausgewählten nanoskaligen Elektrolytsystemen untersucht. Die Gleichrichtung von Ionenströmen (engl. Ionic Current Rectification ICR) in Nanoporen mit einer Oberflächenladung äußert sich in einer gekrümmten Strom-Spannungs-Kurve. Die Überlappung von innerem und äußerem Potential ist dabei hinsichtlich der Ionenverteilung und somit der Porenleitfähigkeit einander verstärkend oder gegenläufig. Auf Grundlage dieses Mechanismus wurde die Gleichrichtung bei einem sehr großen Verhältnis von Porenöffnung zu Debye-Länge erklärt. Ferner wurde mittels der eingeführten relativen Leitfähigkeit κ´ die verschiedenen Leitfähigkeitszustände in Abhängigkeit der Elektrolytkonzentration und Temperatur sichtbar gemacht und Implikationen für Sensoranwendungen wie z.B. dem resistiven Pulszähler zur Partikelanalyse abgeleitet. Es wurde ein numerisches Modell basierend auf dem Poisson-Nernst-Planck-Gleichungssystem entwickelt, um die Translokation eines Nanopartikels durch eine konische Nanopore bei einer geringen Leitsalzkonzentration zu beschreiben. Neben dem klassischen Volumenausschluss-Effekt tritt zusätzlich ein Gleichrichtungseffekt (ICR-Effekt) in der Pore auf. Eine Analyse zur Entflechtung von Partikelgröße und Partikelladung aus der Pulshöhe und Pulsform wurde erfolgreich durchgeführt. Wie der Stofftransport durch eine Oberflächenladung auf dem umgebenden Material einer Nanoelektrode beeinflusst wird, wurde anhand des voltammetrischen Verhaltens diskutiert. An sehr kleinen Elektroden (< 10 nm) ist demnach der Einfluss der elektrochemischen Doppelschicht auf die Strom-Spannungs-Kurve besonders groß und kann auch bei Vorliegen eines hohen Leitsalzüberschusses nicht vernachlässigt werden. In leitsalzfreien Elektrolyten sind die gefundenen Effekte so deutlich, dass sie auch an größeren Elektroden experimentell zweifelsfrei festgestellt worden sind. / There is an enormous interest in understanding and selectively controlling the material transport in nanoscale systems to develop analytical and synthetic applications, but also to decipher the physiological processes of living cells. Within this thesis, the influence of the electrochemical double layer on selected nanoscale electrolyte systems was studied. Ionic Current Rectification (ICR) in nanopores carrying a surface charge manifests itself in a non-linear current-voltage-curve. The overlap of interior and exterior potential is cumulative or opposing with regard to the ion distribution and therefore the pore conductivity. Based on this mechanism, ICR for very large ratios of pore size and Debye length was explained. Furthermore, the different conducting states as a function of electrolyte concentration and temperature were visualized by introducing the relative conductivity κ´ and hence implications for sensor applications such as the resistive pulse sensor have been deduced. A numerical model based on the Poisson-Nernst-Planck-equations was developed to describe the translocation of a nanoparticle through a conical nanopore at a low electrolyte concentration. An additional rectification effect (ICR effect) occurs in the pore beside the conventional volume exclusion effect. An analysis was successfully performed to deconstruct the particle size and particle charge from the pulse height and shape. The material transport is affected by a surface charge on the shrouding material of nanoelectrodes as it was discussed by means of the voltammetric behaviour. The influence of the electrochemical double layer on the current-voltage-curve is particularly large at very small electrodes (< 10 nm) and cannot be neglected even at a high excess of supporting electrolyte. The observed effects were pronounced in unsupported electrolytes, so that they could be clearly detected experimentally at even larger electrodes.

Basierend auf den physikalischen Eigenschaften der unterschiedlichen ölintrinsischen und injizierten Ladungsträger wird ein neues Leitfähigkeitsmodell für Isolieröl und -papier für die Belastung mit hoher Gleichspannung aufgestellt. Das Modell wird mit der Wahl geeigneter Randbedingungen für das elektrische Feld und der Teilchenströme auf die Poisson-Nernst-Planck-Gleichung übertragen. Es steht damit ein Werkzeug zur Verfügung, das dielektrische Verhalten der Öl-Papier-Isolierung zu modellieren, dessen Parameter auf den physikalischen Ladungsträgereigenschaften wie Mobilität und Diffusion basieren. Mit dessen Hilfe werden sowohl die nichtlineare Leitfähigkeit als auch das Durchschlagverhalten als deren Extrapolation feldstärkeabhängig erklärt.