Abstract

The problem considered is the diffusion of heat and moisture in a slab of leather with faces impermeable to moisture, with diffusion initiated by a sudden rise of temperature at the faces. Temperature changes occur in two waves whose diffusion coefficients are of the order predicted by Henry’s theory of coupled diffusion in porous, absorbent solids. However, it seems impossible in this problem to use Henry’s method for calculating the changes in temperature and moisture content in detail. An approximate solution is obtained, and it gives moderately satisfactory agreement with experimental results.