Multi-dimensional analysis of heat and mass transfer in porous media

The formulation and numerical solution of the conservation relations describing the coupled heat transfer and fluid flow in a porous matrix is presented. Coupled analytical results for both one and two dimensions utilizing both thermal, nonequilibrium (T[subscript solid][does not equal]T[subscript fluid]) and equilibrium (T[subscript solid]=T[subscript fluid]) between the solid and fluid states are solid fluid presented. The results of these calculations indicate the effect of the porous material properties on the assumption of thermal equilibrium. The influence of the external environmental conditions, heating and pressure, is shown to significantly affect the internal flow in the porous matrix. Multidimensional flow in a porous media is shown to be of significance when analyzing the perfonnance of an ablative and/or transpiration cooled heat protection system.