Effect of Gas Humidity on Material Temperature and Moisture Content Changes of Wet Spherical Porous Material in Humid Hot Air and Superheated Steam

Abstract

The effects of gas humidity on material temperature and changes in the moisture content of wet spherical porous materials are investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The experimental results show that the mean moisture content at the end of the surface evaporation period (the critical moisture content) is lower under higher gas humidity conditions for the same gas temperature. The gradient of local moisture content in the material, which is obtained by numerical calculations, is smaller under higher gas humidity conditions for the same constant drying rate.