Powder Technology, Vol.80, No.1, 73-81, 1994
Geometric Characterization of Porous Textures in Sintered Glass Bead Packing Through Image-Analysis, Mercury Porosimetry and Gravimetry
In order to model certain properties of liquids flowing through consolidated porous media, geometric characterization of these media are required. The geometric characterization of porous media resulting from partial sintering of the packing of glass beads with the same diameter have been studied by a gravimetric,method, by mercury porosimetry and by image analysis. The porous space has been characterized through its porosity as measured by each of the three methods and its pore size distribution evaluated through image analysis. The porous phase-granular phase interface has been characterized by its area per unit volume and its mean curvature per unit volume measured only by image analysis. A model is proposed to explain the evolution of the area per unit volume versus porosity. This study clearly shows that the three methods are suitable to measure the porosity and appear to be in quite good agreement. The dependence of the quantities characterizing the interface (area per unit volume and mean curvature) on porosity appears to depend on the particle size.