A numerical investigation of phase change effects in porous materials

In this paper, a numerical study of heat and mass transfer with phase change in porous materials is performed. The problem is modelled by a system of transient inter-coupled equations governing the twodimensional multiphase transport process in porous media. The solution algorithm allows full simulation without any significant simplifications. The variations and the interrelationship between the temperature, vapor density, condensation rate, liquid content and the fluid velocity fields are demonstrated and discussed in detail. It is found that the aspect ratio of the porous matrix does not have a significant effect on the Nusselt number results. Furthermore, it is found that the one-dimensional model is not valid when the boundaries of the porous matrix are subjected to a small or zero pressure difference and that the constant pressure simplification would generate significant errors under some circumstances. The present analysis, which presents a full simulation of the problem for the first time, can be applied to a class of problems on heat and mass transport with phase change through a porous medium.