Porenräume

Porenräume, also known as pore spaces or pore volumes, refer to the empty spaces within a porous material. These spaces are not filled with the solid material itself but rather with fluids such as air, water, oil, or gas. The interconnectedness and size distribution of these pore spaces significantly influence the material's properties, including its permeability, porosity, and ability to store or transport fluids.

Porosity is a measure of the total volume of pore space relative to the total volume of the material. It is often expressed as a percentage. Permeability, on the other hand, describes how easily fluids can flow through the interconnected pore spaces. Materials with high porosity do not necessarily have high permeability; the pore structure and connectivity are crucial factors.

Porenräume are fundamental to many scientific and engineering disciplines. In geology and soil science, they determine how groundwater moves and how pollutants spread. In materials science, they are critical for understanding filtration, insulation, and the mechanical strength of materials like concrete or ceramics. Reservoir engineering studies pore spaces in rocks to estimate the amount of oil or gas that can be extracted. The study of porenräume involves techniques like microscopy, mercury porosimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging to characterize their geometry and distribution.