Freezing of a porous medium in contact with a concentrated aqueous freezant: numerical modelling of coupled heat and mass transport

The authors have developed a model of coupled heat and mass transport withi n a porous medium (sheet) saturated with an aqueous solution of initial non -zero solute concentration. The novel contribution of the present work is t he resolution of the equations for simultaneous heat and mass flows at one of the interfaces for a wide range of temperatures and concentrations. Good agreement was noted between the simulated and the experimental data. The r esults presented also underline the fact that this knowledge model helps to clarify our understanding of the interaction mechanisms between heat and m ass transport during the immersion freezing process. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd. All rights reserved.