부산대학교 도서관

This is an analytical and numerical study of the generation and flow of methane gas through a layer of porous medium impregnated with solid clathrate hydrates. The porous layer is depressurized suddenly on its lower plane. The phase-change front advances upward under the influence of heat conduction and convection. The first part of the article describes a simplified analytical solution based on a unidirectional phase-change model in which the conduction in the gas-filled region behind the front is neglected. The second part presents numerical results for the evolution of the unidirectional phase-change process. Both methods lead to the conclusion that the rate of gas flow through the depressurized (bottom) plane of the layer decreases approximately as t-1/2.