KVL Helps Extract 3D Models used in Simulation of Ion Transport in Composite Membranes

Overview

KAUST postdoc Dr. Fernan Martinez recently presented a lecture entitled “Three-dimensional model of ion transport in composite membranes: effect of the internal structure” in the EuroMembrane Conference held between September 8-12, 2024 in Prague, Czech Republic.

In the lecture, Dr. Martinez presented their work on membranes, particularly how the Na+ and Cl- ions move through the active layer, considering diffusion, convection, and electromigration. Furthermore, with 3D geometry, the impact of the voids was evident inside the active layer, and the misinterpretation of voids and tunnels was evident when only 2D images were considered. Specifically, in 3D simulations, they found that “voids do not affect the salt permeability” while in 2D, the “salt permeability is overestimated”.

Visualization scientist Dr. Ronell Sicat from the KAUST Visualization Core Lab (KVL) supported Dr. Martinez in pre-processing the TEM scans, testing segmentation methods, and eventually post-processing the segmentation and extracted surfaces in order to get 3D geometries that were suitable for the target simulation software. KVL also provided free access to Avizo software and a powerful workstation with a pen-and-tablet interface that enabled faster manual segmentation of the TEM data.

Dr. Martinez is pictured here during the presentation.

Dr. Martinez acknowledges KVL contributions.

Illustration of 3D model extraction from segmentation.

Illustration of 3D simulation results.