Analysis of moisture migration in two-dimensional unsaturated porous media with impermeable boundaries
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The problem of the simultaneous heat and mass transfer in a two-dimensional unsaturated medium is studied using analytical and numerical methods. The porous medium has impermeable boundaries and is subjected to two commonly encountered thermal boundary conditions. The conservation equation for the temperature field is solved using the Laplace transform technique to obtain a series solution. The steady-state moisture solution is obtained from the steady-state temperature field using a mathematical theorem derived earlier by the authors (Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 31, 2587-2589 (1988)). In order to obtain the moisture field at intermediate times, a numerical solution is obtained of both the temperature and the moisture fields. The results for the case of the application of a constant heat flux at the left wall show a more rapid migration of the moisture compared to the results of a step change in temperature at the left wall. An increase in the Luikov number causes a more rapid migration of the moisture in the porous medium, whereas, an increase in the aspect ratio reduces the moisture migration activity. Finally, the development of a dryout region within the porous medium is observed. 1989.
