Microstructure effect on the permeability of the tape-cast open-porous materials

In the present paper, advanced characterization and modeling techniques are combined to analyze the microstructure of open-porous tape-cast materials and its influence on the permeability. Four samples with different pore former content were fabricated via the tape casting method. Subsequent firing of the manufactured green tapes allowed to obtain open-porous structures with porosity in range 45–50%. Quantitative image analysis of 3D micro-computed tomography data was performed and detailed porous microstructure characteristics were obtained. Based on the acquired data, representative model of the open-porous microstructure has been developed. Finite volume method was utilized to calculate the permeability of various microstructural scenarios. Results obtained indicate that porosity, mean pore size and constrictivity directly influence the fluid flow properties. Notable variations in the constrictivity and resulting permeability may be caused by a significant addition of porogen, for which the connectivity of the pores change and creation (or its lack) of free-paths affects the fluid flow.