The valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) battery is a predominant electrochemical storage system that stores energy in a cheap, reliable and recyclable manner for innumerable applications. The absorptive glass mat (AGM) separator is a key component, which is pivotal for the successful functioning of the VRLA battery. Herein, the intricate three-dimensional (3D) porous structure of AGM separators has been unveiled using X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) analysis. X-ray microCT has quantified a variety of fiber and structural parameters including fiber orientation, porosity, tortuosity, pore size distribution, pore interconnectivity and pore volume distribution. A predictive model of hydraulic tortuosity has been developed based upon some of these fiber and structural parameters. Moreover, the pore size distribution extracted via X-ray microCT analysis has served as a benchmark for making a comparison with the existing analytical model of the pore size distribution of AGM separators. Pore size distributions obtained via the existing analytical model and through X-ray microCT analysis are in close agreement.

阀控式铅酸（VRLA）电池是一种主要的电化学存储系统，它以廉价，可靠和可回收的方式存储能量，可用于众多应用。吸收性玻璃垫（AGM）分隔器是关键组件，对于VRLA电池的成功运行至关重要。本文中，使用X射线微计算机断层扫描（microCT）分析揭示了AGM分离器的复杂三维（3D）多孔结构。X射线microCT已量化了各种纤维和结构参数，包括纤维方向，孔隙率，曲折度，孔径分布，孔互连性和孔体积分布。基于这些纤维和结构参数中的一些，已经开发了水力曲折的预测模型。而且，通过X射线microCT分析提取的孔径分布已成为与现有AGM分离器孔径分布分析模型进行比较的基准。通过现有的分析模型和X射线microCT分析获得的孔径分布非常一致。