Influence of Structure and Interfacial Chemistry on the Permeability of Particle Clusters

the wetting of the particle surface and the degree to which The permeability of small (10 mm) clusters of carbon black and the pores within a cluster can saturate with the host fluid. A larger (2 mm) clusters of silica particles was determined through better understanding of these parameters may lead to imsedimentation experiments. Examination of carbon black clusters proved dispersions and better control over the desired propcomposed of different types of particles illustrates the influence erties of the particle suspensions. of particle morphology on cluster permeability. The influence of Experimentally, we study clusters of silica and carbon packing on permeability was examined using silica clusters of difblack particles, both of which are commonly used in materiferent densities. The effect of interfacial chemistry was addressed als processing. Both silica and carbon black clusters have by soaking and sedimenting the particles in fluids or combinations three levels of structure: primary particles, aggregates, and of fluids having a range of polarity. The fraction of the cluster