The influence of structural parameters on the permeability of ceramic foams

Ceramic foams are a new structural material, characterized by a high porosity and a large surface area and made of megapores interconnected by filaments. This results in a structure with low resistance to fluid flow, making them appropriate for use as a filter. This work studies the influence of several structural parameters, such as porosity, tortuosity, surface area and pore diameter, in predicting the permeability of ceramic foams. Foams with different pore densities were used as porous media. Permeability was measured utilizing water as the flowing fluid. The results show that the predicted permeability scatters widely with the parameters under study. Pore diameter was the structural parameter that best represented the media. An Ergun-type correlation was fitted to the data and represented very well the permeability of the media in all foams under the experimental conditions studied.