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Absorption
1. Introduction & Importance
Textile Materials play a vital role in our lives but aspects of textiles related to
moisture are probably amongst the most important ones. It is noted that
textile materials take too long to attain dynamic equilibrium (regarding
absorption of moisture) with their surroundings. One of the prime examples of
this is drying of clothing material if hanged in open air for the very purpose.
There are multitude of factors impacting the attainment of such equilibrium
like temperature, air humidity, wind velocity, surrounding space, thickness of
material, density of material, nature of fibre just to name a few.
Doesnt matter how irksome it may prove; this slow attainment of dynamic
equilibrium with surroundings has its benefits. For example, in situations
where material retains water, it prevents rapid changes in humidity or
temperature and thus exercises stabilising or control influence.
We are attempting to study the factors that play key role in changing
conditions of textile materials. To simplify matters, the material taking in
water shall be assumed. It then becomes clear that drying shall follow the
reverse path.
2. Diffusion of Moisture
2.1
Diffusion Equation and its solution
The slowness of drying or wetting can be explained with a reasonable /
obvious assumption that it takes long for the material to get dry or wet
because it takes water molecules a while to move into fibre from air or to
move into air from fibre.
In case the concentration of water or any diffusing fluid varies within the
medium of concern (e.g. air or fibre) from one place to another, the
molecules of diffusing fluid move from the region with higher
concentration to the region with lower concentration. This movement
continues until the concentration of the diffusing fluid in the medium
becomes equal. When such a situation is reached, a dynamic equilibrium
is said to be achieved. There is hardly any movement of the fluid
molecules (in the medium) once the equilibrium has been reached except
under circumstances where ambient temperature or humidity changes
with respect to the medium itself. In such a case the gradient of
concentration becomes available and the diffusion process starts over and
continues unless a new state of equilibrium is reached.
We are going to consider a section / stratum in the medium of diffusing
fluid that has the depth and height of unity but has the thickness dx as
dm
dt across the section /
J=
dm
=DA c (1)
dt
= Nabla Operator
dx
If the concentration of the fluid on the left face of the section / stratum, as
shown in Fig. 1, is c then its clear that the concentration, with gradient
c
c
c+
dx .
on
the
right
face
(also
shown
in
Fig.
1)
will
be
x
x
The equation (1), for one dimension (namely x), can be written as: -
dm
c
=DA
(2)
dt
x
From equation (2), a differential equation can be derived that interrelates
concentration, time and position.
Considering the section / stratum shown in Fig. 1, the mass that diffuses
into the left face (of the
dm=D
c
dt (3)
x
Now, replacing the concentration of right face into equation (3) gives us
the mass diffusing out of the right face across the section / stratum during
same time dt : -
dm=D
c
c+
dx dt( 4)
x
x
dm=D
c
c
D
dx dt (5)
x
x x
c
c
c
c
dt . dx=D
dt + D
+D
dx dt (6)
t
x
x
x x
( )
c
c
=
D
( 7)
t x
x
The equation (7)1 is the diffusion equation for one dimension. This can also
be generalised to be applied in two or more dimensions.
Assuming that the coefficient of diffusion D remains constant throughout
the medium, equation (7) can simply be written as: 2
c
c
=D 2 (8)
t
x
Equation (8) can be solved for appropriate boundary values but doing that
here is not possible as it demands a book of its own. A collection of
solutions for variety of cases like one discussed here and many others
have been provided in detail by Crank [2] to which enthusiastic reader(s)
is / are duly referred.
However, Morton & Hearle [3] have assumed conditions far simpler than
one shall encounter in real life. They have adopted analytical approach
which for most of the purposes (also for fibres of textile use), provides
satisfactory solution without sacrificing much of the accuracy & precision
dc dm dc
[( cc 0 ) ] (9)
dt dt
cx
( )
C0
C = 0 at t = 0
dc
dt
= (10)
cc 0
Where = Time constant.
Now at the start where t = 0, c = 0; integrating with these boundary
conditions: -
t
log ( c 0c ) = log c 0
(11)
c=c ( 1e ) (12)
0
( 1e )(13)
c=c0 1
It can be inferred from equation (13) that is the time it takes for the
process to reach 63% of its total progress.
If we differentiate equation (12): -
dc c 0
= e
dt
(14)
dc c 0
= (15)
dt
Equation (15) says that is also the time the process shall take for
completion provided that it progressed at initial rate. The pictorial
portrayal of equations (13) and (15) is given in Fig. 3.