COMPRESSION EFFECTS IN MERCURY POROSIMETRY

The accuracy of pore size information obtained from mercury porosimetry is often adversely affected by sample compression. Pore filling and compression are difficult to separate in a conventional intrusion experiment. However, we show that by performing an intrusion experiment on a sample sealed in an impermeable membrane (i.e., isostatic compaction), the effects of compression can be ascertained. Using this approach, the volume change associated with pore collapse compression was found to be proportional to P- 1 3. Partial correction of intrusion data is accomplished by subtracting αP- 1 3 from the intrusion data, where α is a constant related to the solid matrix strength and is obtained from the slope in the linear region of a plot of volume versus P- 1 3. © 1990.