HEAT CONDUCTION AND DIFFUSION
EQUATION OF STEAM IN SNOW COVER

I. M. Zhekamukhova

UDC 551.578.46:551.57

Usually, the temperature gradient in snow cover is many 
times over the critical value above which convective motion of air 
confined in snow pores begins. These motions strongly affect the rate 
of heat and mass transfer processes in the snow cover. Analytical 
formulas that express the dependence of the generalized heat-conduction 
and diffusion equations of steam in snow on the Peclet number are 
obtained. A reason has been elucidated due to which, in most cases, 
the value of the diffusion coefficient of steam in snow cover is higher 
than its value in air.

Kabardino-Balkarian State University, 173 Chernyshevskii 
Str., Nal'chik, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, 360004, Russia; email: 
Jekamuhova@mail.ru. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, 
Vol. 77, No. 4, pp. 128-131, July-August, 2004. Original article 
submitted December 6, 2002.