Experimental procedure

Most mercury porosimetry devices consist of three main components.

• A pumping unit

  It is used to evacuate the sample. Generally, a primary vacuum is achieved, i.e. a degassing pressure of less than 10 Pa.

• A "low-pressure station" zone

  The cell containing the sample is placed here. In this zone, the cell is evacuated, the mercury is introduced and the intrusion volume is analyzed as a function of pressure, down to a pressure close to atmospheric pressure. Mercury fills the cell spontaneously, as it is initially under vacuum. It fills the entire volume of the cell up to the entrance to the pores, where its pressure...