Fractal Dimensions and Their Implications in Characterization of Porous Media

A special issue of Fractal and Fractional (ISSN 2504-3110). This special issue belongs to the section "Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 281

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: fractal geometry theory; transports in fractal media
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
Interests: heat and mass transfer; fluid mechanics; fractal theory
Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Interests: thermal comfort; thermal management; heat and mass transfer; fibrous materials; wearable technology; fractal theory
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Porous media widely exist in nature, such as soils, pores, and fractures in oil, coal, and water reservoirs, as well as in engineering materials like fibrous materials, ceramic materials, construction materials, thermal insulation materials, biological tissue, and biological materials. It has been shown that the microstructures of the above media/materials exhibit fractal characteristics, and the fractal dimensions are the most important parameters among their microstructures. This Special Issue will focus on the fractal dimensions and their Implications in the characterization of porous media. Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Characterizations of microstructures of porous media;
  • Determinations of fractal dimensions of porous media;
  • Characterizations of microstructures of pore-fracture media;
  • Determinations of fractal dimensions of pore-fracture media;
  • Applications of fractal dimensions of porous media in transport physics of porous media.

Prof. Dr. Boming Yu
Prof. Dr. Boqi Xiao
Dr. Dahua Shou
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • fractal
  • porous media
  • thermal conductivity
  • permeability
  • electrical conductivity
  • diffusivity
  • pore-fracture media

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

31 pages, 1578 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Elastoplastic Deformation Behavior on the Apparent Gas Permeability of Deep Fractal Shale Rocks
by Xu Zhou, Zhaoqin Huang, Aifen Li, Jun Yao and Xu Zhang
Fractal Fract. 2025, 9(8), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/fractalfract9080526 - 13 Aug 2025
Viewed by 179
Abstract
Deep shale gas reservoirs are vital sources of unconventional natural gas and present unique challenges for exploration and development due to their multiscale flow characteristics and elastoplastic deformation behavior of reservoir rocks. Accurately predicting permeability in these reservoirs is crucial. This study introduces [...] Read more.
Deep shale gas reservoirs are vital sources of unconventional natural gas and present unique challenges for exploration and development due to their multiscale flow characteristics and elastoplastic deformation behavior of reservoir rocks. Accurately predicting permeability in these reservoirs is crucial. This study introduces a novel model utilizing fractal theory and a thick-walled cylinder model to characterize stress-dependent apparent gas permeability. The model incorporates various flow mechanisms, including viscous flow, transition flow, Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion, real gas effects, and gas slip effects. It enables predictions of how permeability changes with elastoplastic behavior and affects the pore volume fractions of different flow mechanisms. Experimental validation during elastic and elastoplastic deformations confirms the model’s accuracy, with each parameter having clear physical significance. Key findings reveal that, at the same effective stress, apparent gas permeability increases with pore radius fractal dimension, temperature, and Young’s modulus, while decreasing with capillary tortuosity fractal dimension. Additionally, during plastic deformation, greater magnitudes of plastic strain lead to more pronounced changes in apparent gas permeability compared to elastic deformation. These insights emphasize the importance of incorporating elastoplastic behavior in studies of deep shale gas reservoirs. Full article
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