Estimation of the Porosity of Particle Mixtures by a Linear-Mixture Packing Model

The geometrical/analytical interpretation of the random packing structure of particles is discussed. On the basis of this analysis, a general framework for the development of a mathematical model, which relates the porosity to the particle size distribution of particulate materials, is derived. As a result, a linear-mixture packing model, which is actually the combination of the linear and mixture packing models proposed earlier, has been developed so as to coincide with the analytical packing theory. The comparisons of the theoretical results with the previously reported theoretical and experimental results indicate that this new model is superior to the linear or mixture packing model.