L'effet piston en milieu poreux

This work presents a study on heat and mass transfer within a pure fluid, close to its liquid-gas critical point when confined in a porous medium. In a single closed cavity, hydrodynamic and heat transfer studies of supercritical fluids under weightlessness conditions and constant volume, revealed a critical acceleration of heat transfer as a consequence of the piston effect. This effect produces a quick and homogeneous thermalization of the whole volume. The subject of this work is to evaluate the impact of an homogeneous and rigid porous medium on the piston effect. First, test validation of a theoretical model for heat transfer was performed via computational modelling. Second an experimental setup reproducing the conditions of the study was constructed. Preliminary tests carried out on this experimental device are presented.