Numerical simulation of the effect of moisture on the thermal conductivity of porous ceramic materials

A simulation model to analyze the influence of moisture content on the thermal conductivity of porous ceramic materials is developed based on the numerical integration of the energy equation. The experimental technique employed for thermal conductivity measurements is the hot wire parallel technique. The numerical model proposed is checked by evaluating the thermal conductivity of a hypothetical porous ceramic material containing different concentrations of water in its structure. The behaviour of the thermal conductivity as a function of temperature, as predicted by the model proposed in this work was experimentally verified by the authors for an unfired refractory concrete. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.