Water transport in phase-changing snowpacks

摘要

A one-dimensional model is presented for meltwater transport in a phase-changing snowpack. The model treats the snowpack as a multiphase mixture consisting of a rigid ice matrix along with air and water. Due to applied surface beating or internal temperature gradients, melting and freezing may occur, so that the water and ice phases are interconvertible. The thermodynamics of the phase changes is included by treating the phase fronts as propagating singular surfaces where the equations for the bulk region are supplemented by appropriate interface or jump conditions at the phase fronts, which leads to a generalized Stefan problem. One dimensional numerical illustrations are given for various applied surface heatings in an isothermal snowpack.