Porous media are encountered actually everywhere in everyday life, in technology and in nature. With the exception of glass and metals, some dense rocks and some plastics, virtually all solid and semi-solid materials are porous to varying degrees. Pores in various types of rocks and materials usually contain some fluid, such as air, water, gas, oil, etc., or a mixture of different fluid facies. The concept of porosity and permeability of rocks and industrial materials might have been nearly missed till now when not only studying the geologic or hydrogeologic phenomena but elucidating the behavior of fluids in porous media, the fatal deterioration of industrial materials, the underground storing of oil, the underground disposal of industrial wastes, and so forth. It will be getting more and more important from now on.
In this paper, the scope and importance of pore characteristics and transport phenomena in porous media, such as building materials and industrial products as well as rocks, are reviewed and applicably discussed.