Porous ceramic materials by pore-forming agent method: An intermingled fractal units analysis and procedure to predict thermal conductivity

Porous ceramic materials can be produced by different techniques. One of the most important is pore agent method. The pore fraction, size, shape and distribution are linked to the pore-forming agent. In these materials porosity has a great influence in their physical properties and one of them is thermal conductivity. The role of the pore size distribution has been studied much less than pore fraction, probably because it is very difficult to describe and to characterize it. For this reason, in this paper, an original intermingled fractal model to predict thermal conductivity (taking into account entirely pore size distribution) has been proposed. This model is capable to reproduce fractal or non-fractal microstructure. Calculated data are in good agreement with experimental ones. The model could be considered as a microstructure simulator to improve thermal performance of porous ceramic materials.