Numerical simulation of heat and moisture transfer through bulky PAN nanofiber mats

Abstract

In this study, the coupled heat and moisture transfer of polyacrylonitril nanofiber mats were investigated by theoretical and experimental methods. A mathematical model was used to describe and predict the coupled heat and moisture transfer of nanofiber mats. Based on the results obtained by scale analysis method, order of magnitude of heat transfer by radiation is negligible for nanofiber mats but heat transfer by convection is important. In this investigation, the coupled heat and moisture transfer including convection heat transfer was solved numerically by finite difference method. Comparison between numerical results and experimental data shows good agreement, which indicates the high accuracy of the numerical results.