Experimental Setup for Studying Thermosolutal Convection in Moist Air

• Published in: IOP conference series. Materials Science and Engineering 2019-07, Vol.581 (1), p.12016
• Main Authors: Somov, S A, Ivanov, A S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Convection; Dimensionless numbers; Estimates; Heat transfer; Mass transfer; Phase transitions; Stability analysis; Vapor phases; Water vapor
• ISSN: 1757-8981; 1757-899X
• DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/581/1/012016

The paper is concerned with designing an experimental scheme for studying convection of moist air under conditions closely approximating the atmospheric conditions. Detailed numerical estimates, necessary conditions and dimensionless gas-dynamic parameters characteristic of the problem of dry and moist air convection are presented and analyzed. The distinctive features of convection of dry and wet air at constant pressure caused by changes in the concentration of water vapor as a result of its evaporation (condensation) are discussed. The effect of water vapor concentration on the convective instability of moist air is analyzed in the context of solutal convection, characterized by the Rayleigh concentration number. The obtained numerical estimates are used to demonstrate the possibility of differentiating and comparing between the processes of convective heat and mass transfer in humid and dry air under laboratory conditions. In future, this will allow researchers to obtain experimental data on the influence of the water-vapor phase transition on the intensity of convective motion in moist air. The structure and detailed technical characteristics of the constructed experimental setup designed for studying convection in moist air in the temperature range from 10 to 30 C are described.