7.15. Interphase Mass Transfer

Interphase mass transfer occurs when mass is carried from one phase into another. It is applicable to both the inhomogeneous and homogeneous multiphase models. Some of the model libraries available in CFX-Pre contain simulation definitions for interface mass transfer cases, including boiling water and cavitation.

Possible causes of interphase mass transfer are:

  • Change of thermodynamic phase. For example, melting/solidification in liquid-solid systems, evaporation/condensation in gas-liquid systems, and cavitation in gas-liquid systems.

  • Diffusion of a dissolved species across a phase boundary. This may or may not involve a change of phase of the dissolved species. Examples are gas dissolution, and evaporation of a liquid into a gas containing its vapor.

  • Breakup and coalescence may be treated as a mass transfer process between two phases representing different size groups of the same species.