ALBALQA APPLIED UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

UNIT OPERATIONS LAB-1
EXP 3: Porosity and density
Instructor: Dr. Banan Hudaib
Students:
Noor AL-Ghazal
Sara Al-masaeid
Saja Majdi
Sereen AlAtyat
Dania Mahmoud
DATE: Sunday 26/3/2023
Objective:
1- To measure the amount of water stored in the pore space of a the sample.
2- To define the density, apparent density, bulk density

Theory:
Soils are made of particles of different types and sizes. The space between particles
is called pore space. Pore space determines the amount of water that a given
volume of soil can hold. Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of soil that
consists of pore space. The porosity of soil is the volume of space in between the
mineral particles of soil. Porosity varies greatly from one kind of soil to another
because the grains of soil are loosely or densely packed.
Porosity = Voidage = 𝜺 =( 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬\ 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝
𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬)
𝜺 = (𝐕 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬\ 𝐕 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐬+𝐕𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝)

*True Density: True density is the density of the solid material excluding the
volume of any open and closed pores. Depending on the molecular arrangement of
the material, the true density can equal the theoretical density of the material and
therefore be indicative of how close the material is to a crystalline state or the
proportions of a binary mixture.
𝜌 = ms\ vs = 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = (𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 \𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 )
*Apparent Density: Apparent density is similar to the true density except the
volume of closed pores is also included. Tablets or excipient materials may have
closed cells or bubbles that are not accessible to the probe gas. In this instance, gas
pycnometry produces the apparent density. If the true density of a powder is
known and the density of a tablet composed of this same material differs, the
closed pore volume can be determined. Closed pore volume may be linked to press
performance and die filling,
𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = (𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 \𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝
𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬 )

*Bulk Density: Bulk density is a characteristic of a volume of divided material

such as powders, grains, and granules. It includes the volume of the solid material,
open and closed pores, and the interparticle voids. The total volume of antiparticle
voids can change with packing, thus leading to the concept of Tap Density, which
measures the volume of a mass of sample after inducing a closer packing of
particles by tapping the container. Taking this method to the extreme leads to the
determination of void volume and compressed density after compressing the
sample under extreme forces and measuring the volume change as a function of
applied pressure.
𝑩𝒖𝒍𝒌 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 = (𝐕𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐞 \𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬) + 1

Particle size: Diameters may be specified for any equidimensional particles,

Particles which are not equidimensional , are often characterized by the second
longest major dimension .
Calculations:
For irregular particles (Pottery)
Volume of voids Vv = 130ml
Volume of solid particles and voids Vt=160ml
Volume of solid particles Vs = (Vs = Vt – Vv) = 160 - 130=
30ml
Porosity = 𝜺 = (𝐕 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬\ 𝐕 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐬+𝐕𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝)
= 130/ (30+130) = 130\160 = 0.8125
Average Mass of solid particle 11.74=g
𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = (𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 \𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 )
=11.74 \ 30 = .3823
𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = (𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 \𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬 )
= 11.74 \ 160 = .0733
𝑩𝒖𝒍𝒌 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 = (𝐕𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐞 \𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬) + 1
= ( 130 \ 30 ) + 1 = 4.333 +1 = 5.333
For irregular particles Diameters may be specified for any equidimensional
particles, Particles which are not equidimensional, are often characterized by the
second longest major dimension.
1) 21 mm
2) 26 mm
3) 22 mm
4) 26 mm
5) 16 mm
So the diameter of the particle is 22 mm

the total volume of the particles Dp = m / ρp

= 11.74/.3823=30.7
The number of particles in a sample N is
𝑁 = m/ 𝜌𝑝. 𝑣𝑝
= 58.7/ 11.47 = 5
surface area of one particle is
Sp = pi * D2 = 3.14 * 222 = 1513.76 mm2
the spheresity is
𝜃𝑠 ≡ 6vp/ 𝐷𝑝 𝑆𝑝
=6*30/ 22*1513.76= 5.4*10-3

The total surface area of the particles is

𝐴 = 𝑁. 𝑆𝑝 = 6m /𝜃s. 𝜌𝑝.𝐷= 1550.9

For regular particles )spherical shape )

Number of particles = 5
Volume of voids Vv = 100ml
Volume of solid particles and voids Vt=120ml
Volume of solid particles Vp= (Vs = Vt – Vv ) = 100 - 120= 20ml
Porosity = 𝜺 = (𝐕 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬\ 𝐕 p +𝐕𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝)
= 100/ (20+100) = 100/120 = 0.833
The diameter of the particle =16 mm
Mass of the particle = 5.45 g 5
𝜌 = ms\ vs = 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = (𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 \𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 )
 = 5.45 \ 20 = 0.2725

the total volume of the particles Dp = m / ρp

= 5.45 / .2725 = 20
The number of particles in a sample N is
𝑁 = m/ 𝜌𝑝. 𝑣𝑝
= (5.45*5)/ 5.5 = 5

Discussion
After applying the experiment, we found that the size of particle, configuration,
type and its shape affect the porosity. Also, it's important to know the kind of
porosity of soil to know it's usage. The spheresity also affect the porosity, and the
more it near the 1 its better. About the results, it's such a good one and the error
percentage due to accuracy