Abstract

Transfer of heat and moisture has been studied in piles of leather disks heated at one end and cooled at the other. The heating reached temperatures above 100°C, so that steam at atmospheric pressure could be formed from the moisture in the leather. As a result, moisture transfer could occur by processes different from those described by diffusion theory. Evaporation and re-condensation of moisture led to heat transfer at rates which could be several times higher than those of simple thermal conduction.