Heat and mass transfer during silica gel-moisture interactions

An initially dry granular silica gel bed is subject to a sudden uniform air flow at a selected temperature and humidity. The coupled non-equilibrium heat transfer and moisture transfer were investigated experimentally and numerically. This study provides a fundamental view of heat and mass transfer process within the granular particle pores. It was found that only a small fraction of internal surface area of silica gel is exposed to water vapour during the test and this occurs very slowly with a time delay that must be accounted for in the model. This modified model gives transient response results that agree with the experimental data within the uncertainty bounds.