Numerical solution of a dynamic model of heat and moisture transfer in porous fabric under low temperature

Dynamic heat and moisture transfer characteristics in human clothing directly determine human heat-moisture-comfort level. A dynamic coupled model of heat and moisture transfer with condensation in porous fabric under low temperature is fully considered and the coupled model together with variable initial and boundary conditions has been solved in theoretical way and numerical simulation. By decoupling of the dynamic model of heat and moisture transfer, the model is converted to a nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations, which is then numerically solved by an unconditionally stable implicit iterative scheme. The distributions of temperature, moisture concentration and water content in the porous fabric for different material in different environmental conditions are numerically computed and hence compared for different textile fibers. Numerical simulation results demonstrate validation of the mathematical model and effectiveness of the proposed numerical algorithms. It is expected to provide useful information for the functional material design based on heat and moisture transfer model and heat-moisture-comfort indexes.