Evaluation of geometric tortuosity for 3D digitally generated porous media considering the pore size distribution and the A-star algorithm

Abstract Porous materials are of great interest in multiple applications due to their usefulness in energy conversion devices and their ability to modify structural and diffusive properties. Geometric tortuosity plays an important role in characterizing the complexity of a porous medium. The literature on several occasions has related it as a parameter dependent on porosity only. However, due to its direct relationship with the morphology of the medium, a deeper analysis is necessary. For this reason, in the present study, the analysis of the geometric tortuosity is proposed considering the porosity and the pore size distribution. Geometric tortuosity in artificially generated digital porous media is estimated using the A-star algorithm and the Pore Centroid method. By performing changes in the size of the medium and the distribution of the pore size, results are obtained that indicate that the geometric tortuosity does not only depend on the porosity. By maintaining the same porosity, the geometric tortuosity increases if the pore size is reduced. Similarly, these pore size effects are greater if the size of the medium is reduced. The A-star algorithm was found to be more suitable to characterize the majority of paths within the half-pore. On the other hand, to increase the size, the Pore Centroid method is the most appropriate. Finally, three types of correlations were generated relating tortuosity with porosity and pore size. All the correlations were determined with 95% of interval confidence.