Modeling rehydration of porous biomaterials: Anisotropy effects

摘要

Based on the dynamics of capillary flow in partially saturated-porous media, a finite element model is developed to predict the infiltration of water into porous biomaterials, taking into account anisotropy effects. The model is formulated on the physically-based constitutive relationships of water activity and conductivity. These constitutive properties depend on temperature, moisture, and microstructure. This is in contrast to the constant transfer properties used in previous models developed for food materials. Rehydration of black leaf tea Assam has been simulated. The prediction agreed well with the experimental data of NMR measurements. The hydration rate from cut-edges is 45 to 200 times faster than that from top to bottom surfaces. [References: 26]