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Although the hydraulic features of the tree-like branching network have been widely investigated, the seepage characteristics of the networks have not been studied sufficiently. In this study, the seepage characteristics of porous media embedded with a tree-like branching network with the effects of roughness are studied based on fractal theory. Then, the Kozeny–Carman (KC) constant of the composite network is derived. The KC constant of porous media embedded with a tree-like branching network with roughened surfaces is in good agreement with the experimental data in the literature. The effects of structural parameters on seepage characteristics are also discussed. Notably, the results show that the KC constant of the composite network increases with an increasing volume porosity, and decreases with an increase in the relative roughness. Besides, the model established in this paper contains no empirical constants to ensure that each parameter has its physical significance. Thus, the proposed model can facilitate a better understanding of the seepage characteristics of fluid transport through a tree-like branching network embedded in porous media.

In this paper, a fractal model is proposed for gas diffusion in dry and wet fibrous media with tortuous converging–diverging capillary bundle on the basis of the fractal theory. The proposed theoretical model for the normalized gas diffusivity (NGD) can be expressed as an explicit functional relation of porosity, [Formula: see text], fluid saturation, [Formula: see text], fractal dimensions, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the minimum average radius, [Formula: see text], the maximum average radius, [Formula: see text], the straight capillary length of a unit cell [Formula: see text] as well as fluctuation amplitude [Formula: see text]. The predictions of the proposed model have been compared with the existing experimental data and the available model predictions, and a good agreement can be observed. The effect of various parameters on the NGD is studied alone. It is observed that the NGD decreases with an increase in the fluctuation amplitude. Also, it is seen that the NGD decreases with an increase in the tortuosity fractal dimension. Moreover, it is found that the NGD in wet fibrous media decreases with an increase in the fluid saturation. The present model has no empirical constant and each parameter contains clear physical meaning. These may better reveal the physical mechanisms of gas diffusion in fibrous media.