Effects of pore size distribution and pore-architecture assembly on drying characteristics of pore networks

Simulation of isothermal drying using two-dimensional networks comprised of interconnected cylindrical pores is presented. Transport of moisture inside pore segments was described by Fick’s law. The results have shown that the shielding of large pores by the smaller pores in the stochastic pore network, which is supposed to be representative of real porous medium, causes the lower drying rate and hence lower effective diffusion coefficient as compared to those predicted from the idealized network of pores with a single size. The strength of shielding is found to vary with the characteristics of pore size distribution as interpreted by the moisture concentration experienced by the pores, which is remarkably different amongst the pore size distributions. The inefficient transport of moisture through the stochastic pore network can be improved or even better with the suitable architecturally assembled structure. The minimum shielding archetype network, appearing very high porous at particle surface, is predicted to enhance greatly the drying rate. On the other hand, the maximum shielding network, which is small pores allocated onto the network exterior, exhibits the slowest drying rate.