A FRACTAL MODEL FOR GAS DIFFUSION IN DRY AND WET FIBROUS MEDIA WITH TORTUOUS CONVERGING–DIVERGING CAPILLARY BUNDLE

In this paper, a fractal model is proposed for gas diffusion in dry and wet fibrous media with tortuous converging–diverging capillary bundle on the basis of the fractal theory. The proposed theoretical model for the normalized gas diffusivity (NGD) can be expressed as an explicit functional relation of porosity, [Formula: see text], fluid saturation, [Formula: see text], fractal dimensions, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the minimum average radius, [Formula: see text], the maximum average radius, [Formula: see text], the straight capillary length of a unit cell [Formula: see text] as well as fluctuation amplitude [Formula: see text]. The predictions of the proposed model have been compared with the existing experimental data and the available model predictions, and a good agreement can be observed. The effect of various parameters on the NGD is studied alone. It is observed that the NGD decreases with an increase in the fluctuation amplitude. Also, it is seen that the NGD decreases with an increase in the tortuosity fractal dimension. Moreover, it is found that the NGD in wet fibrous media decreases with an increase in the fluid saturation. The present model has no empirical constant and each parameter contains clear physical meaning. These may better reveal the physical mechanisms of gas diffusion in fibrous media.