Analysis and application of Luikov's heat, mass, and pressure transfer model to a capillary porous media

Luikov's system of partial differential equations for heat, mass and pressure transfer was applied to describe the drying process in a capillary porous body. A two dimensional finite element model were formulated to solve the system of equations. The simulated results agreed very well with the exact solutions. The finite element model was then used to study the sensitivity of the parameters in Luikov's heat, mass and pressure transfer system, and to estimate the key parameters identified (the coefficient of moisture conductivity, k_m, and the ratio of vapour diffusion to total diffusion, ∈) for Norway spruce. The finite element model was further used for the prediction of temperature, moisture and pressure variation during drying of Norway spruce. Laboratory experiments were conducted to measure the temperature and moisture content of a Norway spruce sample during drying. The predicted results showed good agreement with the experimental results.