ABSTRACT
Rock and soil pore geometry can be divided into surface geometry, single-pore-volume geometry, and the collective geometry of all of the pore space. The pore geometries of rocks behave as fractals in the range from atomic dimensions of a few angstroms up to grain size. There have been many reported measurements of fractal pores over the last few years to support the theoretical analysis of fractal pores discussed in this chapter. These methods of fractal measurements in porous rock material can be classified as three types: discrete methods, scattering methods, and adsorption methods. The chapter discusses these methods, respectively, and some interesting results of fractal pores associated with these methods. Soils are characterized, in general, by surface area and particle size distribution. Cohen & Knight have measured these two parameters for seven soils. The soils were fractionated into 12 grain sizes, and the surface area of each fraction was measured by malachite green absorption.
