A mixture theory for evaluating heat and mass transport processes in nonhomogeneous snow (Q1204015)

This paper states a mathematical model for analyzing the thermomechanical processes in snow. Snow is described as a special kind of multiphase mixture. That means that spacial balances are established for each component, interfacial balances are not introduced. Besides the balance equations of mass, momentum, angular momentum and energy, an additional one must be formulated to take into account the interaction of the phases, here called the balance of equilibrated force that refers to the volume fraction of the component as essential kinematical variable. The second law of thermodynamics is represented by the Clausius-Duhem inequality the mixture with the entropy flux being equal to the heat flux over temperature. As usually in multiphase theories, the constitutive quantities of each constituent depend on variables of the same constituent, only the interaction terms depend on the variables of all components. On this base the residual entropy unequality is analysed at the equilibrium state and in the neighbourhood of equilibrium. The behaviour of snow is studied presuming additional simplifications: The flux vector, the body source and the inertia in the balance equation of equilibrated force are assumed to vanish, and the residual entropy inequality is satisfied term by term. Then the constitutive quantities are presented by at most second order expansions about reference state. As detailed examples, the processes in a layered snow cover under isothermal conditions and in the case of different boundary temperatures are calculated and discussed.