Simple Expression for the Tortuosity of Porous Media

In this article, we derive a simple expression for the tortuosity of porous media as a function of porosity and of a single parameter characterizing the shape of the porous medium components. Following its value, a very large range of porous materials is described, from non-tortuous to high tortuosity ones with percolation limits. The proposed relation is compared with a widely used expression derived from percolation theory, and its predictive power is demonstrated through comparison with numerical simulations of diffusion phenomena. Application to the tortuosity of hydrated polymeric membranes is shown.