Emerging Topics in Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media : From Bioengineering and Microelectronics to Nanotechnology

This book is a synthesis of emerging topics in heat and mass transfer in porous media. It brings together some of the world leaders in research on transport p- nomena in porous media to present the state of the art of its theory as well as the applicationofthetheoryinemerging?eldssuchasbioengineering, microelectronics and nanotechnology. The well renowned scientists presenting their ?ndings in the review chapters presented are not only among the best world leaders in their ?eld, they also capture the research that is undertaken in all the parts of the globe, from the Far East (Hong-Kong), the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand and South Africa) to Europe and America. The book is separated into two parts. The ?rst presents the state of the art of the theory of heat and mass transfer in porous media and can be used in both the traditional (underground ?ow, ?ltering and reservoir engineering) as well as in the more recent emerging applications. The second part deals with emerging topics and applications of the theory to bioengineering, microelectronics, and nanotechnology. Traditionally, thetopicoftransportphenomenainporousmediawasalmostexc- sivelyreservedtothe?eldofunderground?ow(water, oil, gas, etc.)and?ltering.With some singular exceptions on applications to drying processes of fabric, the devel- ment of the theory of transport phenomena in porous media was historically driven by the needs of technologies linked to reservoir engineering or civil engineering. A turningpointinthisdevelopmentwasreachedintheearlypartofthesecondhalfinthe twentycenturywhenspecialattentiontoheattransferinporousmediayieldedan- ceedingexpansionofinterest.Thisdevelopmentcontinuedinthetwenty?rstcentury and reached recently such an impressive use in a diverse collection oftechnological applications that created the motivation behind the preparation of this book.