Heat and mass transfer in a freezing unsaturated porous medium

Abstract

A numerical simulation of a laboratory experiment involving coupled heat and mass transfer in a horizontal porous medium column with one end subjected to a temperature below 0°C has been carried out. The model is essentially that of Harlan (1973) and is solved numerically by the finite difference method using the Crank‐Nicholson scheme. The solution yields temperature, liquid water content, and ice content profiles along the column as a function of time. Comparison of the experimental results and the simulation analysis results shows that Harlan's model, with some modification in the hydraulic conductivity of the frozen medium, can be used successfully to simulate numerically the coupled heat and mass transfer processes when ice lensing does not occur.

A robust and energy-conserving model of freezing variably-saturated soil

“…Therefore, the simultaneous heat and water transport equations result in a merged single differential equation for heat. Jame and Norum (1980) further developed the model of Harlan (1973), and highlighted that the effect of mass transfer on the thermal state of soil is an important factor to be considered. Newman and Wilson (1997) proposed a theoretical formulation for unsaturated soils using soil-freezing and soil-water characteristic curve data to combine the heat and mass transfer relationships into a single equation for freezing or frozen regions of the soil.…”

Permafrost hydrology in North America1

“…In one method, different values of ô6,/ôr are used and the equations are iterated until both the thermal and the mass transfers are satisfied (e.g. Jame and Norum, 1980). Another approach is to introduce an apparent heat capacity that comprises the heat capacity of the soil-water-ice mixture, and the latent heat involved in the phase change (e.g.…”

Three-phase numerical model for subsurface hydrology in permafrost-affected regions (PFLOTRAN-ICE v1.0)

“…In this section, we shall compare the numerical results against the experimental data from Jame and Norum (1980) for a partially saturated porous medium. The Jame and Norum experimental setup was as follows: a 30 cm long horizontal tube with partially saturated no.…”