On the Applicability of the Constant Coefficient Luikov Model in the Identification of Transport Properties of Porous Insulating Materials

The aim of this study is to investigate the limits of applicability of the constant coefficient Luikov model in the identification of heat and mass (moisture) transport properties of a porous insulating material subjected to a transient heating. The drying test has been simulated by a more comprehensive set of equations (De Vries model) tuned by means of a series of effective experiments. The Linearized Kalman Filter (LKF) is adopted as parameter estimator, to put in evidence the differences between the two models. By varying the experimental conditions, different regions are found in which all the transport properties can be identified with a given accuracy.