Gas flow through aerogels

Aerogrels have an extraordinarily large internal surface area which is accessible via open pores, making them candidates for filters and gas adsorption media. The idea is frequently included in lists of potential applications, but little research has been conducted on the use of aerogels as filters or adsorption media. Consideration of aerogels for use as aerosol collection media requires knowledge of the behavior of gas flow through them. Nitrogen and helium gases at a range of pressures from 6-200 kPa were flowed through aerogel and the flow was shown to be a superposition of molecular diffusion and laminar viscous flow. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.