Effect of the environmental atmosphere on heat, water and gas transfer within hygroscopic fabrics

A dynamic model of simultaneous heat and mass transfer in hygroscopic porous materials was developed. In the model, evaporation/condensation and movement of water, sorption/desorption of fiber and effect of atmosphere on mass transfer in porous media were considered. The theoretically calculated results agree well with the experimental data reported in the literature. The distributions of temperature, moisture concentration, liquid water saturation and atmosphere at different boundary conditions are numerically computed and compared. It could be concluded that the atmospheric pressure has significant impact on heat and mass transport processes in hygroscopic porous materials.