Heat Transfer Modeling in Cellulosic

Material Oxidation
Using Irreversible Transformation subfeature

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 Cellulosic Material Oxidation
• Part of the composting process
• Reaction rate depends on temperature => Arrhenius Law:
∆
1
2 , ∆ 8.4 ⁄ , 8.31 ⁄ ·
• Transformation fraction θ min , 1
• Exothermic reaction:
0 , 1.7 ⁄
Reference: Teutli, Roque, Gonzalez, Jimenez, Lozano, and Pelaez, « Heat Flux Predictiond for a 3-D Compost Model »,
Proceedings of the COMSOL Conference 2010 Boston
 Geometry and Operating Conditions
Cylindrical wooden box half-filled
2D-axi geometry
with cellulosic material

Exterior ambient conditions: Wooden box

• Temperature 298.15 Moist air (1 cm thick)

• Relative humidity 0.5 Cellulosic

1m

material
0.5 m

Simulation length: 40 days

 Cellulosic Material Modeling
• Solid feature with effective material properties:
– Porosity 0.3
– · 1 ·
– · 1 ·
– · 1 ·
– Oxidation heat source: 1 ·
 Oxidation Process Modeling
Irreversible Transformation subfeature, with Transformation Model = Arrhenius
kinetics

Arrhenius Law
 Moist Air Modeling
• Fluid feature with Fluid type = Moist Air
 Interior air flow modeling
• Equivalent conductivity for
convection in Fluid feature

(Thermal conductivity
modified according to
Nusselt number to account
for convective heat flux)
 Wooden Box Modeling
• Modeled as a boundary
• Thin Layer feature, Thermally Thick Approximation (tangential
heat flux is neglected)
• External Temperature subfeature to specify exterior ambient
conditions
 Results (1)
• Temperature and heat flux after 40 days
 Results (2)
• Max temperature and transformation indicator over time
 Results (3)
• Effect of air convection above cellulosic material

Without convection With convection

 About Irreversible Transformation (1)
• Temperature threshold model

Overheating analysis:
transformation depends on time
spent above a threshold
temperature

Overcooling analysis:
transformation depends on time
spent below a threshold
temperature
 About Irreversible Transformation (2)
• User defined model

• The fraction of transformation

is user-defined
• The latent heat source is
added in the Heat Transfer
equation
 About Irreversible Transformation (3)
• Specific material properties for transformed state

Dynamic update of the

material properties with
transformation. For example:
· 1 ·