title: Influence of granular packing on porosity and tortuosity.
abstract: In a granular porous medium the packing configuration and the shape of the grains influence how fluid flows through it. This is directly related to the porosity and tortuosity of the pore space. In this paper we present an analytical function relating the porosity φ and the tortuosity τ of a granular pore medium by means of a packing parameter B. A general expression to estimate B for different representative elementary volumes and grain shapes is presented; in particular, for polyhedral packings. Exploring the packing parameter properties, we discuss the nonuniqueness of the packing-shape combination in relation to B and the porosity behavior for the special cases 0<B<1, B=1, and B>1.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Applied Mathematics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Iuri
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Freytag
authors.forename: Waldir L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Roque