Applied Thermal Engineering 61 (2013) 186e192

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Intermingled fractal units model and electrical equivalence fractal

approach for prediction of thermal conductivity of porous materials
Giorgio Pia, Ulrico Sanna*
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Chimica e dei Materiali, Universit degli Studi di Cagliari, Piazza dArmi, Cagliari 09123, Italy

h i g h l i g h t s

g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

An intermingled fractal units model is

presented based on Sierpinski carpet.

Model originality lies in being able to
treat any type of real microstructures.

By turning model into electrical
pattern, it is possible to have thermal
conductivity.

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 7 January 2013
Accepted 24 July 2013
Available online 3 August 2013

The effective thermal conductivity of porous materials is a function of the intrinsic characteristic of the
solid and the uid phases that occupy the pores, of the volume fraction of the pores, and of their
dimensional distribution. This last aspect is less known and studied than the others because the porous
microstructure is difcult to dene in conventional geometric terms. In this work, an Intermingled
Fractal Units model (denominated IFU) is presented, developed by varying some constructive aspects of
the Sierpinski carpet. Simple fractals can be used effectively to describe pore size distributions which
present a regular growth toward the larger diameters and therefore are not suited to describe very
common structures which present one or more peaks in their distribution. But the use of more fractal
units means that the IFU is able to effectively simulate the pore size distribution, the volume fractions of
the voids as well as the geometry of the microstructure of non-fractal porous materials.
By turning IFU model into electrical fractal pattern, it is possible to calculate effective thermal conductivity of the materials. In this approach the value of effective thermal conductivity coefcient derived
from the nth stage was used as a default value for the solid phase in the nth 1 step.
This full fractal procedure has been veried with deterministic or random fractal models as well as
with some porosityeconductivity experimental data, namely, those obtained from advanced ceramics
(Yitria stabilized zirconia) already available in the scientic literature and the results are comparable and
very close.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Fractal geometry
Microstructure-nal
Model
Porosity
Thermal conductivity
Yitria stabilized zirconia

1. Introduction
Over the last few decades, a geometry that refers to gures with
fractional dimension, known as fractals has been developed. The
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 39 706755063; fax: 39 706755067.
E-mail address: ulrico.sanna@dimcm.unica.it (U. Sanna).
1359-4311/$ e see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2013.07.031

importance of this approach is due to its usefulness in describing

the analysis of complex systems. According to Mandelbrot and
Falconer there are a large number of fractal forms in nature [1,2].
Some researchers [3e5], by utilizing these same concepts, have
discovered that a number of aspects of the microstructure of the
materials can be considered as fractal ones in order to describe and/
or predict different aspects of their macroscopic behaviour. Yu et al.

G. Pia, U. Sanna / Applied Thermal Engineering 61 (2013) 186e192

Nomenclature
A
a
AA
AAp
AB
ABp
B
c
Df
k
keff
kf
kM
ks
L
l
nB
nth

unit type A
cross-sectional area of the specimen
total area of unit A
pore area of unit A
total area of units B
pore area of units B
unit type B
conductance
fractal dimension
conductivity
effective thermal conductivity
uid thermal conductivity
thermal conductivity for material M
solid thermal conductivity
thickness of the body
length of the piece of material
number of units B
iteration

[3] and Y. Shi et al. [4] developed a fractal model for porous media
based on the fractal characteristics of pores in the media. Xu et al.
[5] derived an analytical expression for mass transport in homogeneous porous media without empirical constant.
As far as porosity is concerned, Fractal Geometry, displays a well
known series of sponges, that regardless of their being originally
very simple they call to mind the pore size distribution or the
morphology of their outlines (as for example the Sierpinski carpet
or its corresponding tridimensional model known as the Menger
sponge) [1,2].
The development in the space of the scaling procedures (selfsimilarity, applied on no less than two/three orders of magnitude)
allows processing, in fractal terms, the porosimetric data obtained
with the well-known techniques of mercury intrusion porosimetry
[6], gas adsorption or image analysis [7]. Its applications can be
found in the scientic literature in large numbers and include
traditional and advanced ceramic materials, sandstones, soils but
also cement materials. Winslow [8] described an X-ray scattering
technique for measuring the dimension of a fractal surface to
demonstrate that the surface of hydrated cement paste is fractal in
character, and has a large fractal dimension. Livingston [9] presented a model to describe nucleation and growth for the hydration
of tricalcium silicate. Lange [10] explored several image analysis
techniques that provide insight into the nature of pore structure as
observed in backscattered electron images of polished sections.
In Arandigoyen et al. [11], microstructure of blended mortars
is studied taking into account porosity, pore size distribution
and surface fractal dimension, meanwhile Diamond et al. [12]

Q
R
R1
R2
R3
Rs
Rf
Reff
Rf
Rs
S
T1
T2
V

187

heat ow
resistance
resistance for rst line of pattern
resistance for second line of pattern
resistance for third line of pattern
resistance of solid phase
resistance of uid phase
total resistivity
uid resistivity
solid resistivity
area involved in heat transfer
temperature in extremity 1
temperature in extremity 2
pore volume

Greek symbols

pore volume fraction

l
pore size
lA-max maximum pore size unit A
lB-max maximum pore size unit B

have shown that pore systems of concrete may present fractal

characteristics.
Pore size distribution of several materials does not tend to
develop progressively toward the range of large dimensions, but is
characterised by the presence of one (or more) maximum values in
an intermediate position on the porosimetric range. In this work an
intermingled fractal units model [13e15], based on the Sierpinski
carpet (Fig. 1), is presented aiming at simulating both non fractal
microstructures and pore size distributions to predict their physical
characteristics.
Recently it has also been possible to relate a number of relations
enabling the effective and rational (not empirical) evaluation of
physical quantities which are technologically relevant such as
permeability to uids or the coefcients of heat transmission of
porous materials to the representation of fractal geometry. So, in
scientic literature it is possible to nd different fractal models to
obtain the permeability value applied to different materials and
pore microstructure.
For example: in Ref. [16] the soilewater characteristics, hydraulic conductivity and soilewater diffusivity of unsaturated soils
are derived and expressed by only two parameters, the fractal
dimension and the air-entry value, which can be evaluated from the
fractal model for the pore-size distribution; in Ref. [17] Shi et al.
presented a series of fractal models are developed to investigate the
effect of gas diffusion layers wettability on liquid water and gas
permeation; in Ref. [18] Zheng et al. proposed a fractal model for
gaseous leak rate through the contacting surfaces under nonisothermal condition based on the Darcy law and diffusion

Fig. 1. Sierpinski carpet with Df 1.89 (SC1 in Ref. [19]).

188

G. Pia, U. Sanna / Applied Thermal Engineering 61 (2013) 186e192

theory. In the same way, fractal geometry is able to describe heat

transference process and analytical expression can give thermal
conductivity value related to experimental data. In fact Huai et al.
generated several types of fractals to model the structures of porous
media and to simulated heat conduction by the nite volume
method [19] and lattice Boltzmann method [20,21], while Pia et al.
[22] studied the effect of microstructure on lightweight concrete
prepared from clay, cement, and wood aggregates. Zhou et al. [23]
adopted the fractal theory to establish a geometric model of the
aquifer, which helps with the analysis of the heat transfer mechanism in an irregular conguration, and derives a correlation of the
overall thermal conductivity from the thermal resistance structure.
The effective thermal conductivity (keff) of porous materials is a
function of the intrinsic characteristic of the solid (ks) and the uid
(kf) phases that occupies the pores (eventually different solid and/
or uid phases will be present), of the volume fraction of the pores,
, and their dimensional distribution [24,25]. This last aspect is less
well known and studied than the others because the porous
microstructure is difcult to dene in conventional geometric
terms. When it comes to this the recent application of concepts and
methods of Fractal Geometry [1,2], become extremely interesting.
For example, the procedure adopted in the reference [19] is based
on the denition of models of diverse fractal dimensions (Df) and of
, and on the simulation of the heat conductivity with the nite
volume method, FVM. A computation programme written using
C language brings the result of the effective thermal conductivity of each model considered through the relation:

keff Q

L
jT2  T1 j$S

(1)

where Q and S represent the ow and the area involved in the heat
transfer and jT2  T1 j is the temperature difference across the L
thickness of the body. Alternatively, this study demonstrates (for
the same model used in Ref. [19]) how the keff value can be calculated by exploiting in a complete and direct manner the fractal
character of the models adopted to represent the microstructure. By
using IFU it is possible to simulate every pore size microstructure
(fractal or non-fractal), furthermore this model can be converted
into electrical fractal patterns. An advantage of the IFU model is that
it uses the same equation for each nth stage. In fact the keff calculated in the nth step is then used in the nth 1 stage as the ks.
Heat transference along one direction has been considered. This
procedure can be started from any scale and it is very important
because for many materials it is difcult to nd ks experimentally,
while porosimetric data is much more easily available. This full
fractal procedure has been veried with deterministic or random
fractal models (the same used by Huai et al. [19]) as well as with some
porosityeconductivity experimental data, namely, those obtained
from advanced ceramics (Yitria stabilized zirconia) already available
in the scientic literature, microstructure of which is non fractal [26].

Fig. 2. Example of IFU model based on two Sierpinski carpets: A (Df 1.89, i 4, n 1)
and B (Df 1.63, i 4, n 12).

nB

AAp  $AA


$AB  ABp

(2)

with AA, AB, AAp and ABp, respectively the total area and the area of
the pores belonging to units A and B which make up the IFU (Fig. 2);
b) denition of the circuit diagram of the units, assuming that at
each subsequent iteration of the scaling keff is the calculation result of
the previous stage (Fig. 3); c) in case several materials have a distinct
pore size distribution and are mixed together: estimating a value of
keff nal representative of the real microstructure through a new
circuit diagram which allows to evaluate possible different solid
phases or uid which will give rise to combinations and thus different
values of keff (depending of the articulation of the circuit diagram)
which will be processed through a calculation of an average.
By dening the smaller cell (Fig. 3) corresponding to the size of
the smallest pores, keff f (circuit diagram corresponding to the
microstructure) is provided.
Being c and R respectively conductance and average electrical
resistance:

2. General fractal model and electricalethermal conductivity

patterns
The proposed approach is characterized by a strict adherence to
the pore size distribution of real materials. Its originality lies in
being able to treat any type of real microstructures both fractal and
non-fractal.
It is based on: a) determination of a fractal model (IFU [13]) of
the porous microstructure experimental form of some (two or
more) contiguous units, e.g. considering two units A and B the IFU:
n units of B (with lB-max maximum pore size) were used for each
and every unit of A (they are both part of Sierpinski carpet; lAmax maximum pore size), where:

Fig. 3. Fractal procedure: keff I ks

Sierpinski carpet with Df 1.89.

i 1.

At the end we obtain keff of the material for

G. Pia, U. Sanna / Applied Thermal Engineering 61 (2013) 186e192

189

Fig. 4. Comparison of the keff obtained using our procedure and those obtained using Huai method for SC1 [19] (kf being equal).

1
R

(3)

1
1

1
2

1
3

R
R
R
1
1
1
c

3Rs 2Rs Rf 3Rs

2
1

3Rs 2Rs Rf

Being; R Reff

l
a

(4)
(5)

(6)
Fig. 6. Comparison of the keff obtained using our procedure and those obtained using
Huai method for RSC1 [19].

(7)
1

where Reff, Rs, RA, l and a are respectively the total resistivity, the
solid resistivity and the uid resistivity, the length of the piece of
material and the cross-sectional area of the specimen.

1
2 1
1

Reff $l=a
3 Rs l=a 2Rs l=a Rf l=a

(8)

1
21
1

Reff
3 Rs 2Rs Rf

(9)

Being conductivity

keff

1
;
Reff

becomes:

(10)

1
keff

21

31

keff

ks

2
ks

1
;
k1

(11)

2
1
ks 2k k ;
s
f
3

(12)

kf $ks

So it is possible to calculate keff value:

This rst cell is part of the next stage of fractal modelling,
whenever it is taken as part of solid, with a ks equivalent to the
value of the previously calculated keff.
In general therefore, the value of keff calculated at the nth iteration stage is inserted into step (nth 1) as the new value of the
conductivity of the solid phase, by using the same simple
expression. This procedure, given a material which well name M
with a specic porosity and in particular a pore size distribution
which is known, goes on as far us iteration in so that it covers the
entire range of the porosity which will correspond to keff kM.

Fig. 5. Fractal models of the porous microstructure RSC2 [19] (random) and electrical equivalent circuits; s is solid, f is uid/pore and s is dummy solid.

190

G. Pia, U. Sanna / Applied Thermal Engineering 61 (2013) 186e192

Fig. 7. Logelog plot of the experimental porosimetric MIP data from Ref. [26].

Table 1
IFU model data for experimental ceramics.
Ceramic 72%

Units
Pore

lA-max (mm)
Df
nth

Ceramic 51%

Unit type A

Unit type B

Unit type A

Unit type B

1
3
0.6
1.63
4

6212
2
0.01
1.77
3

1
3
0.6
1.63
4

870
1
0.02
1.89
2

A number of possible and different congurations of connections in series and parallel for the same system will be then processed in order to get an average thus eventually obtaining a keff
that can be compared with the data acquired experimentally.
3. A fractal model designed on Huai et al. to predict thermal
conductivity
As we mentioned in Ref. [19], thermal conductivity values were
derived from the application of the Law of Fourier-Laplace and the
nite volume method.
In this part the application of a full fractal model and approach
with the aim to extremely simplify the calculation of thermal
conductivity, has been reported.
Fig. 1 shows the fractal model named SC1 in Ref. [19], a Sierpinski
carpet with Df 1.893 and Fig. 3 shows, for the same model, the
corresponding equivalent electrical circuit, in terms of resistance
proposed in this work. Dening the elementary cell with sides three
times the size of the smallest pores, we can write for the rst step:

keff

kf $ks
2
ks
3
2kf ks

(13)

This rst cell is taken as part of the solid from the stage succeeding the fractal scaling with a ks equal to the value keff previously calculated.

In general therefore the keff calculated in the nth step is then

used in the nth 1 stage as the new conductivity value of the solid
phase (Fig. 3). The use of fractal units and electrical equivalence
allow to solve electrical pattern step by step. This method helps
using Sierpinski fractal model always at rst iteration changing
only the solid thermal conductivity value. Thus, an advantage of
this choice is that it uses the same equation for each nth every
stage.
This allows the procedure to be carried out starting from any
scale, which is important because apart from the case of ceramic
materials, it is difcult to nd a dependable ks of a large number of
components experimentally, while data pertaining to systems with
well-known porosity are much more easily available.
By comparing keff variation to kf, as shown in Fig. 4 (left) and the
results of the ve iterations considered, as shown in Fig. 4 (right), it
is evident a satisfying coincidence with the data calculated in
reference is evident [19].
The procedure gives good results also with the random microstructure proposed in Ref. [19]. According to Ref. [13] an IFU type
geometric model has been developed for the RSC2 [19] system,
made up of two units as shown in Fig. 5, which also reports the two
possible combinations of the electrical equivalent circuits, given the
pores characterising the elementary cell.
Considering the two congurations as equally probable, the
average value calculated from the two formulas as a representative
value of the keff (for the same values of ) can be adopted.
Fig. 6 shows how results achieved in this way are, once more,
compatible with those used as Ref. [19].
4. Full fractal approach (IFU) validation for experimental data
of advanced ceramics
Many experimental data have been shown in literature which
associate the keff to , but it is less common that the microstructure
is characterised through the entire pore size distribution.
Some authors proposed fractal models to predict thermal conductivity [27e31]. Moreover recent research carried out a critical

Fig. 8. Pore size distributions; experimental (points) and derived from the IFU model (curves) for the ceramics [26].

G. Pia, U. Sanna / Applied Thermal Engineering 61 (2013) 186e192

examination of a number of reports that are valid in particular for

granular materials or to their equivalent ones. They utilize models
of fractal geometry of porous media and electrical analogy for the
evaluation of thermal conductivity. But in these models:
- The porosity is understood exclusively in terms of the volume
fraction and is uncritically assumed to be fractal (pore size
distribution is not considered);
-The fractal dimension is not derived from experimental data of
the materials, but it is given as presumed given the peculiar
form of the Sierpinski carpet being adopted, the Df is even
considered constant on a (small) interval ;
-keff expressions are far from simple by presenting a large
number of terms.
By using the IFU is possible to obtain a constant reference to the
reality of the material as well as to its features, including nonfractal ones.
To support a sound full fractal approach, in this paragraph is
shown a calculation of thermal conductivity coefcient for
advanced ceramics with porosity and pore size distribution
known. Some data concerning highly porous Y-stabilised zirconia
are reported in Ref. [26]. To dene the fractal character of the real
porous microstructure the method of Pfeifer and Avnir [32] is
used.
Reporting the data of volume V and radius r from mercury
intrusion porosimetry, MIP, in a log (dV/dl) vs. log l, one can
calculate the fractal dimension considering Df 2 e the gradient of
the best straight line of correlation (Fig. 7).
Even if its coefcient of correlation is fairly high, and the correlation extends over two orders of magnitude, there are still
objective difculties in considering these structures to be truly
fractal. In particular, in the case of the ceramic with 72%, the
gradient doesnt achieve a result for Df between the canonic values
of 2 and 3 [13e15]. Moreover the dimensional distribution does not
tend to develop progressively toward the range of large dimensions
but is characterised by the presence of a maximum value in an
intermediate position of the range.
However using IFU model even real non fractal structures can be
effectively modelled with diverse fractal units [13], that comply
with the restrictions on and its pore size distribution. The IFU
Model data to simulate ceramics porous microstructure is presented in Table 1.
The results are completely satisfying from a geometric point of
view; the values for are the default ones, while the good match
of experimental and calculated size distribution are shown in
Fig. 8.
Applying electrical equivalence and converting fractal model in
a fractal resistance net connected in series and parallel, it is possible
to calculate keff for these materials.
The results are 0.20 and 0.56 W/(m K) in agreement with the
experimental values [26], namely 0.19 and 0.59 W/(m K).
5. Conclusions
This study demonstrates how it is possible to calculate the
effective thermal conductivity (keff) of the fractal porous microstructures proposed by Huai et al., taking into consideration an
approach based on the use of electrical equivalence circuits without
the application of the Law of Fourier-Laplace. The basic concept we
proposed, responds to the intrinsic characteristics of fractal geometry (the repetition of structures and physical behaviour on
different dimensional scales), permits the use, at each stage, of a keff
value as being representative of the successive solid phase.
Assuming the equal probability between the electrical equivalent

191

circuits it is possible to use this approach even when the fractal

structures are random. The application of these concepts to some
advanced ceramic materials allows to model a non-fractal microstructure with fractal units and this permits to calculate keff in
agreement with the corresponding experimental determinations.
Acknowledgements
Gratefully acknowledges Sardinia Regional Government for the
nancial support (P.O.R. Sardegna F.S.E. Operational Programme of
the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, European Social Fund 2007e
2013 e Axis IV Human Resources, Objective l.3, Line of Activity l.3.1
Avviso di chiamata per il nanziamento di Assegni di Ricerca).
The authors are particularly grateful to Dr. Matt Ionta, director of
IEC Assemini and President of School of Languages and Mr Mike
Pett, member of School of Languages who supported us
throughout our present work.
References
[1] B.B. Mandelbrot, The Fractal Geometry of Nature, Freeman, New York, 2004.
[2] K. Falconer, Fractal Geometry: Mathematical Foundation and Applications,
Wiley, New York, 2003.
[3] B.M. Yu, P. Cheng, A fractal permeability model for bi-dispersed porous media,
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 45 (2002) 2983e2993.
[4] Y. Shi, J. Xiao, M. Pan, R. Yuan, A fractal permeability model for the gas
diffusion layer of PEM fuel cells, Journal of Power Sources 160 (2006)
277e283.
[5] P. Xu, B. Yu, Developing a new form of permeability and KozenyeCarman
constant for homogeneous porous media by means of fractal geometry, Advances in Water Resources 31 (2008) 74e81.
[6] J.L. Prez Bernal, M.A. Bello, Fractal geometry and mercury porosimetry,
comparison and application of proposed models on building stones, Applied
Surface Science 99 (2001) 99e107.
[7] M. Arandigoyen, J.L. Perez Bernal, M.A. Bello Lpez, J.I. Alvarez, Lime-pastes
with different kneading water: pore structure and capillary porosity, Applied
Surface Science 252 (2005) 1449e1459.
[8] D.N. Winslow, The fractal nature of the surface of cement paste, Cement and
Concrete Research 15 (1985) 817e824.
[9] R.A. Livingston, Fractal nucleation and growth model for the hydration of
tricalcium silicate, Cement and Concrete Research 30 (2000) 1853e1860.
[10] D. Lange, H.M. Jennings, S.P. Shah, Image analysis techniques for characterization of pore structure of cement-based materials, Cement and Concrete
Research 24 (1994) 841e853.
[11] M. Arandigoyen, J.L. Alvarez, Pore structure and mechanical properties of
cement-lime mortars, Cement and Concrete Research 37 (2007) 767e775.
[12] S. Diamond, D. Bonen, Microstructure of hardened cement paste. A new
interpretation, Journal of American Ceramic Society 76 (1993) 2993e2999.
[13] C. Atzeni, G. Pia, U. Sanna, Fractal modelling of mediumehigh porosity SiC
ceramics, Journal of the European Ceramic Society 28 (2008) 2809e2814.
[14] C. Atzeni, G. Pia, U. Sanna, N. Spanu, A fractal model of the porous microstructure of earth-based materials, Construction and Building Materials 22
(2008) 1607e1613.
[15] C. Atzeni, G. Pia, U. Sanna, A geometrical fractal model for the porosity and
permeability of hydraulic cement pastes, Construction and Building Materials
24 (2010) 1843e1847.
[16] Y.F. Xu, P. Dong, Fractal approach to hydraulic properties in unsaturated
porous media, Chaos Solitons & Fractals 19 (2004) 327e337.
[17] Y. Shi, S. Cheng, S. Quan, Fractal-based theoretical model on saturation and
relative permeability in the gas diffusion layer of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, Journal of Power Sources 209 (2012) 130e140.
[18] Q. Zheng, J. Xu, B. Yang, B. Yu, A fractal model for gaseous leak rates through
contact surfaces under non-isothermal condition, Applied Thermal Engineering 52 (2013) 54e61.
[19] X. Huai, W. Wang, Z. Li, Analysis of the effective thermal conductivity of fractal
media porous, Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 2815e2821.
[20] X. Li, J. Cai, F. Xin, X. Huai, J. Guo, Lattice Boltzmann simulation of endothermal
catalytic reaction in catalyst porous media, Applied Thermal Engineering 50
(2013) 1194e1200.
[21] J. Cai, X. Huai, Study on uidesolid coupling heat transfer in fractal porous
medium by lattice Boltzmann method, Applied Thermal Engineering 30
(2010) 715e723.
[22] G. Pia, U. Sanna, A geometrical fractal model for the porosity and thermal
conductivity of insulating concrete, Construction and Building Materials 44
(2013) 551e556.
[23] F. Zhou, X. Zhang, Assessment of heat transfer in an aquifer utilizing fractal
theory, Applied Thermal Engineering 59 (2013) 445e453.
[24] C. Xing, C. Jensen, C. Folsom, H. Ban, D.W. Marshall, An optimal guarding
scheme for thermal conductivity measurement using a guarded cut-bar

192

G. Pia, U. Sanna / Applied Thermal Engineering 61 (2013) 186e192

technique, part 1 experimental study, Applied Thermal Engineering (2013),

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2013.03.040.
[25] H. Fauzi, H.S.C. Metselaar, T.M.I. Mahlia, M. Silakhori, Phase change material:
optimizing the thermal properties and thermal conductivity of myristic
acid/palmitic acid eutectic mixture with acid-based surfactants, Applied
Thermal Engineering (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.
2013.06.050.
[26] B. Nait-Ali, K. Haberko, H. Vesteghem, J. Absi, D.S. Smith, Thermal conductivity
of highly porous zirconia, Journal of the European Ceramic Society 26 (2006)
3567e3574.
[27] L.-W. Fan, Y.-C. Hu, T. Tian, Z.-T. Yu, The prediction of effective thermal conductivities perpendicular to the bres of wood using a fractal model and an
improved transient measurement technique, International Journal of Heat
and Mass Transfer 49 (2006) 4116e4123.

[28] Y. Feng, B. Yu, M. Zou, P. Xu, A generalized model for the effective thermal
conductivity of unsaturated porous media based on self-similarity, Journal of
Porous Media 10 (2003) 551e567.
[29] Y. Feng, B. Yu, M. Zou, D. Zhang, A generalized model for the effective thermal
conductivity of porous media based on self-similarity, Journal of Physics D
Applied Physics 37 (2004) 3030e3040.
[30] Y. Ma, B. Yu, D. Zhang, M. Zou, Fractal geometry model for effective thermal
conductivity of three-phase porous media, Journal of Applied Physics 95
(2004) 6426e6434.
[31] Y. Ma, B. Yu, D. Zhang, M. Zou, A self-similarity model for effective thermal
conductivity of porous media, Journal of Physics D Applied Physics 36 (2003)
2157e2164.
[32] P. Pfeifer, D. Avnir, Fractal theory of heterogeneous surfaces, Journal of
Chemical Physics 79 (1983) 3558e3565.