Determination of Physical Properties and Thermal Conductivity of Graphite Foam with Image Analysis

Since pore network structures of porous materials have irregular shapes and may vary in size, the accurate characterization and virtual 3D reconstruction of these materials are of great importance for a deeper understanding of the structure and subsequent calculations. In this study, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray microcomputed tomography (µCT) images of a graphite foam sample are used for image analysis method (IAM) and virtual 3D reconstruction as non-destructive scientific tools with high accuracy. The morphological characterization and determination of effective pore diameter, porosity, specific surface area (SSA), and effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of POCO graphite foam are investigated. By examining the results obtained from the method of image analysis, it is found that there is a good agreement among the IAM results.