Tortuosity: A brief review

Tortuosity influences flux transport in porous media. The attempt to obtain this tortuosity with more precision is the subject of several research. Thus, mass transport depends on this tortuosity of the porosity of the materials. Although several definitions can be found, the objective of this work is a brief review on the subject tortuosity. Some methods have been mentioned to find tortuosity. There are numerous methods to obtain it: analytical, numerical and empirical. The article did not separate by types of the tortuosities, that is, geometric, hydraulic or electrical, as it is a comprehensive topic. Porosity was listed in this article to tortuosity calculation in only a few methods cited from other research. Porosity data were obtained from another study and its source was duly cited in the article. Comparisons of methods to obtain tortuosity as well as its relationship with porosity were made and presented in graph and table format. Diffusion related to tortuosity and porosity was not the focus of this article, but it was only cited the source of the research where due to porosity and tortuosity it can be obtained. In conclusion, we can see the behaviour of tortuosity in relation to the methods adopted in the article and they are presented in graph and table format. The curves approach without touching almost in a straight line. But depending on the type of equation to get tortuosity, the shape of the curves approaches a hyperbola, and the tortuosity values may be above the value 4. Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Congress on Materials & Structural Stability. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Tortuosity plays a significant role in flux transport in porous media. This article provides a brief review of tortuosity and discusses various methods for its determination. The relationship between tortuosity and porosity is also examined through comparisons and presented in graphical and tabular formats. The focus of the article is not on diffusion, but it refers to a study that explains how diffusion can be obtained based on porosity and tortuosity.