Your need: identify the internal and surface structure of your materials
Our porosity analysis laboratory offers porosimetry services, combined with other complementary techniques to provide you with precise and usable data.
Objectives of porosity analysis
Our solutions: carry out a porosity analysis to characterize and optimize your materials
Call on FILAB, porosimetry laboratory
For over 30 years, our laboratory has had the expertise and analytical resources necessary to meet specific porosity analysis needs.
We support industries in the precise characterization of the internal and surface structure of their materials, offering reliable, customized analyses tailored to each problem.
Our porosity analysis in detail
Porosity analysis transforms an often invisible property into a controllable parameter, thereby securing, improving, and innovating industrial processes.
- Quality control/compliance: detecting internal defects, density variations, or unexpected porous areas that could compromise performance or cause failures.
- Process optimization: adjusting sintering, compacting, firing, or coating parameters based on the measured porosity level.
- Formulation/material comparison: comparing the performance of alternative materials or batches in terms of porosity (and therefore fluid transport, permeability, capillarity, etc.).
- Predicting functional behavior: calculating permeability, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, fluid diffusion (liquid/gas), etc., based on porosity measurements.
- Predict functional behavior: calculate permeability, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, fluid diffusion (liquid/gas), etc., based on porosity measurements.
- Failure problems: identify porous areas responsible for cracking, internal corrosion, infiltration, or loss of integrity.
Our technical means for measuring porosity
At the FILAB laboratory, the main means of characterizing porosity are:
Techniques adapted to each need
The choice of technique for your porosity analysis depends on several criteria, which we evaluate with you:
Pore size range to be measured
- If you have very small pores (micropores < 2 nm, mesopores up to ~50 nm)
- If your pores are larger, in the nanometer to micrometer range or even larger
- For very small pores and/or closed porosity
Type of porosity (open vs. closed)
- Mercury porosimetry only penetrates open pores.
- The BET technique measures adsorption on pores accessible to the gas molecule.
Objectives of porosity measurements
- To obtain a pore diameter distribution (size, volume)
- To determine the true density/total porosity
- To perform rapid quality control
- To model fluid behavior
Often, for complete characterization, we recommend a combined approach: for example, BET, Hg porosimetry, and pycnometer, depending on the ranges of interest.
Materials concerned and industries
Our porosity analysis services are designed for a wide range of industrial materials:
- Metallic materials: metal alloys
- Powders: metal powders, PAH powders, etc.
- Ceramics and glass
- Polymers and composites
Which techniques should be used to measure porosity?
Learn more
FAQ
Open porosity is that which communicates with the exterior of the material, and is therefore accessible to fluids or gases. Closed porosity is isolated within the material, not connected externally. Methods such as Hg porosimetry only measure open porosity.
This depends on the equipment. Typically, Hg porosimetry covers diameters from a few nanometers (or even ~3 nm) to several hundred micrometers, or even millimeters depending on the instrumentation.
Yes, it is often recommended to cover the entire pore size range (micropores via BET, macropores via Hg porosimetry) and cross-reference the results. The synergy of the techniques gives a more complete view.
