Porosity Versus Permeability Essay Example for Free

Porosity Versus Permeability EssayPorosity and permeableness are cardinal harm that are commonly mentioned together and sometimes, even mistakenly interchanged. It is certain, however, that these two terms are completely different and pertain to different rock, sediment, or soil characteristics. The volume of openings in congenator to its total volume determines porosity. The rule of thumb is that, the more tightly packed a rock is, thus the less porous it is.As an example, crystals are less porous than volcanic rocks since the crystalline structure allows for fatheaded organization, while volcanic rocks usually form in the presence of gases and therefore contain air spaces. Permeability, on the opposite hand, pertains to the degree of capacity to enable fluid to pass through. Thus, for example, if a rock has numerous holes in its structure and lets fluids to pass through effectively, then it can be considered as something that is highly permeable. On the other hand, if a rock has holes yet fluid still cannot pass, then it cannot be considered to have good permeability.In this sense, not only are possible passageways required for having good permeability, notwithstanding the interconnectivity mingled with the passageways is also all-important(prenominal) in order to allow the fluid to flow through. A sedimentary rock such as shale, which is composed of lithified clay, can be considered to have high porosity and low permeability. Since it is characterized by the numerous unorthodox spaces and breaks in its structure, it considered to be is rather porous just like other sedimentary rocks.However, due to the detail that the spacing pattern does not convey a continuous path wherein fluids may travel through, it cannot be considered to be permeable hence, it has low permeability. Therefore, porosity and permeability are indeed distinct from each other, but a directly proportional relationship may commonly be observed between the two however, there a re cases where the relationship does not hold true due to the lack of proper interconnectivity between pores.