Fractal Modelling of Porosity

Mathematical Assessment of Porosity in a tri - phase Pore-

Solid Fractal Texture Medium
Moh-Amokrane AITOUCHE1 Mabrouk DJEDDI1
1
Earth Physics Laboratory Faculty of Hydrocarbons and Chemistry University of Boumerdes 35000 Algeria

Abstract:
The modelling of any phenomenon which evolves in time and/or space first requires the definition of
an adequate mathematical mode in conjunction with a judicious algorithmic process able to show the
results acquired during the different steps of the modelling dynamics. In case the goal is to build a
synthetic model that could describe a
real state, it would be necessary to first understand the basic principles such as the geometric
structure and apply it to build the synthetic model.
Thus, in a porous and saturated medium, the circulation and the distribution of the fluids strongly
depend on the geometrical configuration of this medium. In addition, the probabilistic context, the
scale factor and self-similarity concepts are fundamental tools to highlight the characteristics inherent
to this porous medium when considered in its natural environment.
Among the procedures for modelling a porous medium, the fractal approach is distinguished by the
simplicity of its implementation. The dynamics of porosity is first initiated by the choice of a binary
random source generator model. Various repetitive combinations are then performed within the binary
generator lead to obtaining a synthetic porous medium model whose degree of porosity can be
estimated by a new parameter namely the fractal dimension. Once the fractal principle of porosity is
acquired, then it is plausible to imagine a scenario that makes it possible to understand the transition
from a non-porous solid body to a porous state. The recursive model called PSF (Pore Solid Fractal)
describes a probable scenario of porosity but it is not the only one.

Key-words: Modelling porosity, Fractal Dimension Probability. Scale factor. PSF model

medium. For this purpose, the variations of a

1. Introduction
Toute opération de modélisation d'un
environnement physique comme celui d'un sol
doit préalablement débuter sur la base des
observations du milieu naturel suivies de
l'extraction des caractéristiques pertinentes qui
formeront les paramètres futurs de l'opération
de modélisation. One possibility of identifying
the image of a soil is to consider it as a mass
of aggregates distributed in the form of
organized structures that can be complex but
accessible. Investigations at very small scales
or at specific resolution levels may reveal an
advanced state of internal organization, with
well-organized entities fully accessible to
analysis. Thus, a porous medium would
appear as a network comprising a solid phase
and a porous phase which differ in patterns
and sizes of distribution. All these indices when
converted into numerical form will be tools for
modelling of a porous medium.l .
The objective is first to initiate a procedure for
fractal modelling of a soil and the calculation of
the corresponding fractal dimension allows
access to the "hidden" properties of a porous
large number of physical parameters of the soil
such as porosity, permeability and fracturing
follow a mathematical power law whose
exponent is bound in one form or another to
the fractal dimension. The main goal would be
to build this power law. Another crucial
hypothesis is to admit that the phenomenon of
porosity is not static but results from dynamic
porosity. This implies the existence of two
types of porosity: a porosity or primary and a
generated porosity that we propose to study.
The porosity source model must be chosen
carefully. It will be considered the generator
model. Mathematically, it could be is a matrix
of binary sequences. The dynamics of the
porosity will then be initiated by variants of this
matrix using different combinations but always
following a law of evolution.
Although attractive, this form of fractal
modelling of porosity has the disadvantage of
suggesting that the entire process of porosity
in a medium is exclusively fractal; it is quite
possible that only part of the medium obey the
principle of fractality. Thus, for a given
medium, three states or phases can coexist: a
porous phase (P), a solid phase (S) and a
fractal phase (F). This conglomerate of phases
is known as the PSF model. The dynamics of
porosity is simply a regeneration of these three
phases exclusively within the fractal mass (F)
based on mathematical criteria such as
probability, self-similarity and power law.
However, there are many other approaches to
fractal porosity modelling, each with its
advantages and disadvantages. The major
problem to be solved is to propose a universal
and reliable method of the porosity
phenomenon
2. self-similar processes and fractal
geometry
The irregular sets provide a much better
representation of many natural phenomena or
objects of unshaped shapes. Fractal geometry
provides a mathematical framework for
studying such irregular and ostensibly complex
sets that exhibit a self-similarity and / or scale
invariance topology over a limited range of
iterations (Falconer 2003).
The concept of fractal was initially stated by
the Franco-American mathematician Benoit
Mandelbrot (1967, 1977 and 1983). The word
fractal comes from the Latin word "fractus"
which means fractured. Qualitatively, fractals
characterize objects in which, when properly
scaled, the resulting parts are similar to the
whole source model as in a protocol cloning.
3. The different types of fractals
Depending on the process used for their
design, fractal objects can be classified into
two distinct categories:
3.1 Deterministic Fractals
They are purely mathematical fractal objects
with perfect similarity. They can be obtained
geometrically by iterative construction. Among
the most well-known deterministic fractal
figures are the Sierpinski carpet and the
Menger sponge.
3.2 Probabilistic Fractals
The primary objectives of creating fractal
objects would be to provide a new
mathematical theory capable of describing
objects and natural phenomena. In the
development of this theory, probabilistic type
fractals are the most representative because
they are related to the set of imperfect random
processes present in nature. Probabilistic
fractals can be random or stochastic
processes.
4. Fractal geometry in Geosciences
Since its conception by the Franco-American
Mathematician B. Mandelbrot (1990), the
theory of fractal geometry provided new tools
for describing, studying and modeling certain
geological, seismological and geophysical
phenomena (Truscott, 1997).
Usually, geological systems present complex
intrinsic configurations which make the models
recommended for the study of their intrinsic
properties such as petrophysical parameters
insufficiently accessible. Although widely
accepted, the hypothesis that these properties
are random variables, many causes causing
geological phenomena and their induced
effects are rather deterministic processes
which makes them reproducible by modeling or
experimentally. The two concepts of fractal
geometry and self-similarity contribute greatly
to reducing the complexity of geological
systems by describing how they evolve in time
and space (Barton and Lapointe, 1995)....
Based on this hypothesis, we can introduce the
notion of porosity dynamics that leads to
estimate the size and frequency of pores as
well as their spatial distribution and globally
follow the evolution of the porosity of a medium
over time. For this, it is essential to grasp the
notion of scale in the porous medium the
methodological aspects of the emergence of
fractal geometry of scale invariance and self-
similarity in porosity phenomena. now
recognized in the fractal theory will be the
basis of the fractal modelling of the
phenomenon of porosity.
5. Porosity vs. fractal dimension
There are many types of fractal dimension,
each with its own definition and application.
The simplest fractal dimension used in this
work is the similarity dimension that can be
considered the easiest to implement and
calculate. The fractal dimension is generally
non-integer contrary to the Euclidean
dimension. The fractional nature of the fractal
dimension makes it possible to generate a
wide range of dynamic porosity values over a
geological process.
The fractal dimension can be considered as
the measure of the roughness or irregularity of
a surface. It describes how shapes, irregular or
complex structures are arranged and
distributed spatially. In a given medium we link
the porosity to the fractal dimension by defining
two criteria: a scale factor related to the
dynamics of irregularity of the medium. and a
pore probability parameter related to the pore
distribution in the medium. These two criteria
are closely dependent since they are both
involved in the calculation of the fractal
dimension and therefore of the porosity..
A widely accepted definition of the fractal
dimension is described as follows: a source or
generator object is decomposed iteratively into
elementary elements by applying a scale factor
n
noted r  0 . At each iteration step, N n is
the number of elements obtained by applying a
local linear size rn follows equation 1: .
DF
N n  C rn (1)
where n is the order of decomposition or level
of iteration (order of the fractal), D F is the
fractal dimension and C a constant. The
relatioship (1) generally implies the existence
of scale invariance in a fractal dynamics. The
fractal dimension D F is considered as the
major parameter for understanding and
interpreting the intrinsic evolution of the fractal
phenomenon like porosity (Ahle and Niemeyer
1969). Two consecutive iterations n and n  1
in the process are enough to estimate the
fractal dimension such as
N 
log n 1 
DF   Nn 
 r 
log n 
 rn 1  (2)
The relation (1) highlights the principle of self-
similarity in the construction of the fractal
model. As a result, the fractal dimension D F is
constant at all levels of iteration. It can
therefore be estimated from the beginning of
the process,
N1
log
N0
DF 
r 7. Some basic models of fractal porous
log 0
r1 (3)
where r0 and r1 denote respectively the
original length and the length at the first level
of the process. Thus, jointly to the number N n
of the objects, the knowledge of the original
length r0 and the one of the level of the
process r1 is sufficient to compute the fractal
dimension D F .
6. Porosity and "geofractality"
Generally, rocks have a natural porosity that
provides the required permeability required for
fluid flow. There are mainly two types of
porosity: the first is the intergranular porosity
(fig.1) and the second is the porosity acquired
by fracturing the rock. . The latter type of
porosity can be directly induced by the
phenomenon of fragmentation inside the rock It
is characterized by the appearance of
branched structures observable by a
magnification operated at different scales.
Numerous rock structure studies carried out
under microscopic observation in the
laboratory have suggested that the porosity
follows a fractal distribution model. as in
sandstone (Wong 2008). Thus, on a large
scale or on a small scale, the soils themselves
can be studied and modeled under this
hypothesis of "geofractality" with mainly two
objectives: to highlight a particular geometry of
the pores called fractal geometry and the
frequency spatial distribution and in pore size
in the fractured medium .
Fig.1. Spatial size-frequency distribution of
pores in a porous solid
media
Before starting a fractal modeling process, it is
imperative to specify the geometry of the
initiator model from which the synthetic model
of the porous medium will be constructed. The
pictorial representations will be exclusively
illustrative but significant despite their apparent
complexity. The synthetic models of porous
media that we propose are a bit ideal because
they exclusively use geometric mechanisms of
porosity without referring to the nature of this
porosity (primary, or secondary porosity)
or interstitial), nor with the state of fracturing or
contents of fluid.
 7.1 A virtual porous planar medium: the 2 3( n+1)
Sierpinski carpet log
The Sierpinski carpet is based on a DF == 2 3n = 1.8927892
deterministic model of fractal geometric (1 / 3) n
construction (Pearse 1998). The initial log
(1 / 3) n+1
geometric model is a unit square of size L  1
and belonging to the Euclidean space of Note that the fractal dimension D f is not an
dimension D E  2 . In this square is applied a integer number and it is less than the
decomposition process based on the principle Euclidean dimension D E . In the case of the
of self-similarity. After choosing and applying a Sierpinsky carpet, it is inserted between the
ratio or scale factor decomposition noted r ( Euclidean dimension of a line i.e. one and a
r  1 / 3 in our case) on the unit square, we get surface dimension i.e. two
nine secondary squares of size L1  1 / 3 . The
central square is removed. The resulting empty
square will be our first pore. The number of all
full squares still remaining is N 1  8. The
decomposition process is extended over
scales finer (fig.2). At the level of
decomposition n for a scale factor
rn = (1 / 3) n , the number of remaining
squares is N n = 2 . We then get the
3n

procedure for construction of the fractal

Sierpinsky carpet as summarized below.
 1st iteration : r1  1 / 3 then
N 1  2  8 (remaining squares)
3

2nd iteration : r2  (1 / 3)
2
 then
N 2  2  64
6
Fig. 2. Sierpinski carpet of(a) initiator ( n  0 ) -(b)
n th n  1 - (c) stage n  2 and (d) n3
iteration : rn = (1 / 3)
n stage stage
 then
N n = 2 3n (4) 7.2 Random model of the Sierpinski carpet

The Sierpinsky carpet model described above

For the calculation of the fractal dimension DF is called a standard and deterministic model
we have two possibilities: because of its non-random shape. It is possible
to modify the ratio of self-similarity r in the
 Directly from the generator model basic model .i.e. from the first step of iteration.
This leads to random versions of the
log N 1 Sierpinsky carpet, more realistic and more
DF  natural than the standard model. This can be
log 1 / r (5) expressed as a "binary" matrix whose lines (or
Or columns) are identified with the initial porous
log 8 structure of the support. Figure 3 illustrates an
DF   1.892789260 overview of a porous medium model generated
log 3
from the considered binary matrix I after four
iterations (fig.3)
 Using any two consecutive iterations
n and n + 1
N n+1
log
Nn
DF =
r
log n
rn+1 (6)
or
 Fig.3. Fractal porous model generated by
a binary matrix

Random model of homogeneous

Sierpinski carpet

Figure 2 is simply a representation of the

Sierpinski carpet in a random case. . In order
to build this model; it was necessary to define
both a scale factor r and a probability p
named here pore probability related to the
possibility of pore appearance and therefore to
the level of porosity (Sukop et al., 2001).
Figure 3 shows the influence of these two
factors on the quality of the porous medium
and the corresponding fractal dimension. It
should be noted that the fractal dimension
increases with increasing scale factor. The
study of the geometric aspect and the spatial
regularity of a medium in terms of porosity, the
fractal dimension will be an indicator of the
level of fragmentation or consistency of this
medium. The more the fractal dimension
increases, the more the medium will be
irregular or highly fragmented (fig.4).
Scale Probability Fractal
Factor r Pore p Porous Fractal Pattern Dimension
DF

1 1 1.8928
3 9

1 1 1.9037
4 9
 1 1 1.8928
3 15

Fig.4. Variation of structure and fractal dimension in the Sierpinski carpet according to the two
parameters of pore probability and scale factor (homogenous case).

The few cases displayed by fig.4 show that the

fractal dimension increases with the increase
of the scale factor.. The fractal dimension thus
becomes a tool for describing the geometrical
aspect, the spatial regularity and the
consistency of a porous medium The more the
fractal dimension increases, the more the
medium will be irregular or highly fragmented. .

8. An ideal porous medium: the Menger

sponge
The planar model of a fractal porous medium is
fictional but it allowed us to understand the
principle of modelling fractal porosity. A model
of porous material more realistic, based on the
Sierpinsk carpet is represented in space by the
so-called Menger sponge Three stages of
iteration of the Menger sponge are illustrated in
Figure 5.The generator model is a solid cube
with a unit dimension on which the following
iteration steps are applied: After choosing a
scale factor of decomposition, r1  1 / 3 in
figure 5 elementary cubes of the same size are
obtained. In the first step, the 7 small cubes
located at the center of each side are removed.

Fig..5. Menger Spoge of(a) initiator ( n  0 ) -(b) stage n  1 - (c) stage n  2 and (d) stage n  3
If N (r ) denotes the remaining cubic elements, remained elementary cubes by using the new
scale factor r2  r1  1 / 27 so the
2
then N 1 ( r1  1 / 3)  20 or N 1  20 (figure 6).
The same procedure is repeated for each number of preserved cubes is
N 2  729  329  400 .
Consequently at any level say k of This fixed binary code will be introduced into
decomposition we obtain the simulation program. Therefore the porous
model is generated by "cloning" at different
scales the same generator. In our simulation
N k  20 k ( 7) (fig.7) the standard model is based on the
Note the exceptional growth in the number of binary matrix whose rows are represented by
cubic elements preserved and the number of the following binary sequence [1 1 1; 1 0 1; 1 1
cubic elements removed and whose sites are 1; 1 0 1; 0 0 0; 1 0 1; 1 1 1; 1 0 1; 1 0 1]
considered as pores.Figure 5 shows three The figure obtained from this procedure
levels of iteration. From the second iteration, a contains a set of 9x3 = 27 cubic entities and a
beginning of complexity of the porosity model set of seven (7) deleted cubes that symbolize
appears. The fractal dimension D F of this the pores. This binary sequence provides the
synthetic porous model is calculated
r
scale factor and it remains to introduce
usingrelation (2) taking into account the first the pore probability p at each level of
two consecutive levels of iteration
iteration (here p  7 / 27 )
N i 1
log
Ni
DF 
r
log i
ri 1 (8)

The application of equation 8 gives

log 20
DF   2.726833027
log 3
The fractal dimension is therefore smaller than
the topological dimension which is three.
Menger's sponge is therefore a three-
dimensional prototype for a summary modeling
of a porous medium (fig. 6).
Fig.7. standard model of Menger sponge
after two stages of iteration
All models of porous media shown in Figure 8
are based on the principle of Menger's sponge.
They are obtained after two iterations and by
variation of the two parameters, probability of
pore p and factor scale r .

Fig. 6. Extraction procedure of cubic entities in

the Menger sponge

9. Modeling of porous medium using binary

matrix

As in the case of the Sierpinsky carpet, it is

possible to generate any form of Menger
sponge using as an initiator a binary code
which can be represented as a binary matrix.
 Scale Probability Fractal
Factor r Pore p Porous Fractal models Dimension
DF

1 7 2.7268
3 27

1 7 2.6309
3 20

1 7 2.2773;
4 27

Fig.8. Variation of structure and fractal dimension of a porous medium model according to the two
parameters of pore probability and scale factor (homogenous case)

9. Porosity vs. fractal dimension
The hypothesis of the fractal distribution of the
porosity of a medium can be highlighted by a
relation between this porosity and the fractal
dimension.. A unified and convincing model
linking the porosity and the fractal dimension is
to be built. It must, in particular, take into
consideration a maximum of parameters
involved in the porosity model. The simplest
parameter is the geometric parameter defined
as the ratio between the lower limit Lmin to
upper limit Lmax of the self-similar elements.
These two limits can represent the pore size.
In the case of the Sierpinski carpet (fig.2). , the
equation 9 makes it possible to express the
porosity  as a function of the fractal
dimension D F (Bowing & al 2001)
Figure 6 gives a simple overview of the
calculation of porosity without taking into
account the fractal dimension. This relationship
involves the ratio of the total number of solid
cubes to the number of cubes removed (Eq.9).
n
 20 
n  1   
 27  (10)
Figure 9 shows the variations in porosity at
different levels of construction of the porous
Note that because of the self-similarity property
of the construction of the porous medium
model, the fractal dimension calculated using
equation 10 keeps constant at all scales
Figure 9 shows the variations in porosity at
different levels of construction of the porous
fractal model without the fractal dimension.

3  DF
L 
   min 
 Lmax  (9)

Note that because of the self-similarity property

of the construction of the porous medium
model, the fractal dimension D F as calculated
in equation 8 remains constant at all scales of
the construction. Below are some values of the
 Lmn
porosity according to the ratio Lmax
Fig. 9.. Porosity law according
Table 1 shows the variations in porosity at the equation (10)
different levels of construction of the porous
fractal model. fractal dimension There are other methods of calculating porosity
as a function of the fractal dimension. The
Lmin Fractal Porosity second alternative is to relate the porosity  to
dimension  the similarity ratio r such that 0  r  1 (Rieu
Lmax DF et al 1991. Thus another formulation of
:1 / 2 0.9284 calculation of the porosity introducing the
1/ 4 0.8619 fractal dimension is given by the relation (11)
1 / 16 1.8928 0.7429
1/ 3 0.8889  n  1  r ( 3  DF ) n (11)
1/ 9 0.7901
1 / 27 0.7024 Figure 10 shows the variations porosity φ n for
a number of iterations n = 101 and a scale
factor r = 1 / 3 . The curve is fairly
Tab.1. some values of porosity representative of the increasing evolution of
Lmn porosity towards an asymptotic tendency to a
vs. the ratio Lmax total porosity..

Fig. 10. Porosity law according
to the equation (11)
The two figures 9 and 10 display the same law
of variation of the porosity. The third alternative
for the estimation of porosity  is to include, in
addition to the fractal dimension D F , the ratio
r0 / rn with r0 the starting size of the model
fixed a priori and rn the size of the model at
any level n of the iteration. (Eq.12)
3  DF
r  generator we can use the formulation (13)
 n  1   0 
 rn  (12 )
.
Fig.11. Porosity law according to the
equation (12)
The correlation of the figures 9,10 and 11
plotted for the same number of iterations
reflects the equivalence of the equations 10,11
and 12 in the assessment of the porosity .
Model of porous medium including three
phases: Pore – Solid – Fractal :( PSF)
Design of a PSF porous medium (Rieu-
Sposito model)
The porous media described above have the
particular structure of porosity that results from
repeated use of the solid matrix. An excessive
number of iterations would give an almost total
porosity implying a quasi-total disappearance
of the solid phase at the end of the procssus.
This model of porous medium can not reflect
the case of a true porous medium in which it
remains a solid phase even in the case of a
sharp increase in porosity. A Pore-Solid-
Fractal (PSF) three-phase medium model
(Rieu et al. 1991)) maintains a solid phase
during the different iterations (Perrier et al.,
1991). In the other steps, the iterative process
would only affect the fractal phase. In order to
understand the principle of building a PSF soil
model, a generating model is considered
(Figure 10). It is composed of three sets. The
P
first subset contains seven (7) pores; the
second subset S contains Three (3) solid
elements and the third subset F six (6)
elements. The subset F will be the only one
concerned by the iteration process (Perrier
2003). If we denote by G the global PSF
resulting from the theory of sets in
mathematics:
G  P S F

card(G)  card(P )  card(S )  card(F ) 13)
where and card denote respectively the
union operation and the number of elements in
a given set Using the relationship (5) we define
three parameters of great interest for further
development: the proportion p of the porous
phase which is equivalent to a probability such
as
card(P )
p
card(G ) (14)
card(S)
s
card(G ) (15)
card(F )
f 
card(G ) (16)
From expressions (6), (7) and (8) we deduce 1  card(P )
p
the relationship p  f  s  1 . Similarly we card(G ) (18 )
define the proportion (1  f ) belonging to the
generator G and assumed as a mixture of At the second step of iteration, new pores
pores and solids so as 1  f  p  s . At each appear whose number is pf . According to
iteration step, the pores and solids are retained figure 10 this number is 7x6 pores. The
while the future transformations will concern
only the fractal set.. The case illustrated in resulting porosity  2 is such that
Figure 12 provides the following results
 2  1  pf  p  pf (19)

card (G )  16  p  7 / 16 At the third step of iteration the resulting

card (P )  7  3 is such that 3  1   2  pf 2 or
 s  3 / 16 porosity
  f  6 / 16
card (S )  3 
card (F )  6 3  p  pf  pf 2 (20)
then

At any level n of iteration the resulting porosity

 n is such that

n 1,
 n  p  pf 2  pf 3  ....  pf n 1  p  f k
k 0

(21)

The right side of the expression (14) is defines

mathematically a geometrical progression. Its
sum is

1 f n
Fig. 12. An example of starting PSF porous model i  p
1 f (22)
During the decomposition process only the
fractal phase F is concerned with the Knowing that p  s  f  1 , the relationship
estimation of the fractal dimension D F of the (15) can be rewritten as
PSF soil model. The fractal dimension DF

 
obeys the following relation (CITER p
TURCOTT) i  1 f n
ps (23)
For an infinite number of iterations and
card( F )= r
 DF
(17)
knowing that 0  f  1 , we can deduce the
According to figure 10, the scale factor r is as final porosity  of the PSF model by putting
r  1 / 4 and. card ( F )=6. Therefore
p
  lim  i 
log 6 i   ps (24)
DF   1.292481250
log 4
The calculated limit is finite and thus the final
porosity of the PSF model too. Only the two
9. Evaluating the porosity in a PSF model
phases S and P
participate in the final
The first step in the construction of the PSF porosity but not the fractal phase F. As a
model provides a PHI1 porosity such that result, the porosity of a porous model of the
PSF type can be estimated as soon as the
decomposition process begins. porosity but
not the fractal phase F. As a result, the
porosity of a porous model of the PSF type can
be estimated as soon as the decomposition
process begins. . Thus, according to figure 13,
the final porosity  of the PSF model
7 fractal phase is therefore only a catalyst of the
= = 0.70
illustrated in figure 12 such that 10
. References
Fig.13. spatial distribution of porosity in the
considered PSF model
Conclusion
Although considered a relatively recent theory,
fractal theory proves to be a powerful and
practical tool for modeling phenomena whose
dynamics obeys a law of self-similarity.
The pragmatic modelling of porosity uses
fractal objects whose structures generated at
all scales depend on the choice of a
sometimes simple initiator such as the
Sierpinski carpet or the Menger sponge
belonging to the class of geometric and
deterministic fractals. Digital models can also
be included among fractal generation
techniques. Binary matrices are tools well
suited to the generation of fractal objects by
manipulation of the rows and columns and the
choice of two fundamental parameters of two
parameters: the pore probability and the scale
factor.
It is now admitted, by experience or by
simulation, that many phenomena in nature
obey laws of power. Their study can therefore
be approached from the perspective of fractal
theory. Porosity is an edifying example,
especially since it is related to another
characteristic of fractal objects: the non-
integral fractal dimension.
The junction between fractal theory and
natural phenomena such as porosity, depends
on the model fixed a priori to generate porosity.
. The model of a three-phase medium - Pore-
Solid-Fractal (PSF) has the advantage of being
studied mathematically by the probabilistic
theory. One of the conclusions drawn from this
study is that the final porosity of the medium
can be known from the beginning of the
decomposition process since only the solid
phase and the porous phase are involved. The
porosity acquired by the medium.
Ahle C, Niemeyer J (1989) The fractal Dimension
of the pore volume inside soils. Z-P Anzenernät-
Bodente 152
Alison N A, Crawford J W, Mac Bratney A B
(2000) On Diffusion in Fractal Soil Structures.
Soil, Science Society of America Journal, Vol
64
Anderson, A N, Mac Bratney A B (2000) Soil
aggregates as mass fractals. Australian
Journal of Soil Research, 33
Barton CC, La Pointe PR (1995) Fractals in earth
science. Plenum Press, New York
Bird N R A, Perrier E M A, Rieu M (1999)
Generalizing the fractal model of soil
structure: the PSF approach. Geoderma, 88
Bird N R A, Perrier E M A (2003) The pore-solid
fractal model of soil scaling. European Journal
of Soil Science, volume 54 Issue 3
Boming Yu and Jianhua (2001) Some Characters
of Porous Media.. Fractals Vol. N°3
Bourke P D (2006) An introduction to the Apollony
fractal. Computers and Graphics vol 30 issue 1
Dathe A, Thullner M (2005) The Relationship
between fractal properties of solid matrix
and pore space in porous media. Geoderma 129
Delannay R, Thovert J F, Adler P M (1989)
Fractals et milieux poreux. Revue
Internationale de systémique, 3
Dubois J, Chalain J (2006) Le monde des fractals.
Ellipse Edition
Falconer K (2003) fractal geometry, Mathematical
Foundations and Applications 2nd edition,
Wiley & Sons
Feder J (1988) Fractals. Ed.Plenum Press New
York
Gouyet J F (1992) Physique et structures fractales.
Ed. Masson
Guyon E, Mitescu C D, Hulin J.P, Roux S (1989)
Fractals and percolation in porous media and
flows. PACS
Kewen L (2004) Theoretical Development of the
Brooks-Corey Capillary Pressure Model
from Fractal Modelling of Porous Media.
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Kewen L (2004) Generalized Capillary Pressure
and Relative Permeability Model Inferred from
Fractal Characterization of Porous Media.
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Kewen L (2004) Characterization of Rock
Heterogeneity Using Fractal Geometry.
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Le Méhauté A (1990) Les géométries fractales.
Ed. Hermès Paris
Mandelbrot B B (1990) The fractal geometry of
nature. Ed. W.H. Freeman San Francisco
Messineo F (2010) Les fractales. Ellipses Edition
Marketing
Perfect E, Kay BD (1991) Fractal theory applied to
soil aggregation. Soil Sci Soc Am. J. 55
Perrier E (2003) The pore- solid fractal model of soil
scaling. European Journal of Soil Science,
Volume 54 Issue 3
Perrier E, Bird N R A (2002) Modelling soil
fragmentation: the PSF approach. Soil and
Tillage Research 64
Perrier E, Bird N, Michel Rieu M (1999)
Generalizing the fractal model of soil
structure: the pore-solid fractal approach,
Geoderma, Volume 88
Perrier E, Nigel B, Rieu M (1991) Fractal theory
applied to soil aggregation. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
55
Pearse EPG (1998) Universality of the Sierpinski
carpet. Honour undergraduate Thesis Math
Univ. California

Rieu M, Sposito G G (1991) Fractal

fragmentation, soil porosity, and soil water
properties. II. Applications. Soil Science
Society of America Journal, 55
Rieu M. and Sposito G (1991) Fractal
Fragmentation , Soil Porosity and Soi Waters.
Soc. Am. J. 53
Sukop M, Perfect E A, Bird N RA (2001) Water
retention of prefractal porous media
generated with the homogeneous and
heterogeneous algorithms. Water resources
research, vol 37
Turcott D L (1997) Fractals and Chaos in Geology
and Geophysics. Cambridge University Press
Wong P Z (2008) Fractal surfaces in porous
Media. AIP Conferences Proceedings,
Vol. 154