Interpreting the Drying Kinetics of a Soil Using a Macroscopic Thermodynamic Nonequilibrium of Water Between the Liquid and Vapor Phase

Ali Chammari (1) , B. Naon (2) , Fabien Cherblanc (1) , Jean-Claude Benet (3)

1 LMGC - Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil
2 UNB - Université Nazi Boni (Bobo-Dioulasso)
3 CGB - Couplages en Géomécanique et Biomécanique

Two preliminary experiments show that a non-equilibrium situation can be easily encountered during a natural drying process. This leads us to reconsider the thermodynamic local equilibrium assumption, and propose a macroscopic two-equation model that takes into account mass exchange kinetics between the liquid and vapour phase. Numerical simulation of this theoretical model is then compared to experimental drying kinetics of soil columns. The discrepancies observed between the theoretical prediction and the experimental results are discussed. This contribution emphasizes the importance of such non-equilibrium phenomenon when modelling water transport in hygroscopic porous media.

Mots clés: natural attenuation; non-equilibrium; drying kinetics; porous media; phase change

Domaines: Génie des procédés

Ali Chammari, B. Naon, Fabien Cherblanc, Jean-Claude Benet. Interpreting the Drying Kinetics of a Soil Using a Macroscopic Thermodynamic Nonequilibrium of Water Between the Liquid and Vapor Phase. Drying Technology, 2008, 26 (7), pp.836-843. ⟨10.1080/07373930802135998⟩. ⟨hal-00449714⟩