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.f. Hent Mass Tran$er.

Vol

17. pp. 1281-1283.

PergamonPress1974.

Printedin Great Britain

OBITUARY
ALEXEI VASILIEVICH LUIKOV
1910-1974

ALEXEI

VASILIEVICH
1910-1974

IN THE month of June 1974 the Internationai Journalof Heat and Mass Transfer lost one of its founders,the Editor for the U.S.S.R. and East Europe countries,
the prominent Soviet scientist, Academician of theAcademy of Sciences of the B.S.S.R., Alexei Vasilievich
Luikov. He died unexpectedly on the 28th of June 1974
at the age of 63.
The merciless death has torn from among us a greatscientist and a great man. The scientific community inthe field of heat and mass transfer has suffered a heavy’loss in the death of A. V. Luikov.
Alexei Vasilievich Luikov was born in 1910 in thetown of Kostroma. He graduated from the Yaroslavl
Pedagogical Institute, Physico-Mathematical Department, in 1930 and in 1935 successfully defended hiscandidate thesis. Though a very grave disease confined
him to bed through the years 19361939. A. V. Luikov
wrote tw-o monographs during these years, one on thekinetics and dynamics of drying and the other on heatconduction and diffusion and upon convalescence, in
1939, defended his doctorate thesis.
A. V. Luikov created a school on one of the mostimportant divisions of thermal physics- heat and masstransfer in capillary-porous bodies and disperse media
with phase and chemical conversions. This school won
world recognition and well-merited international prestige. The school is distinguished for the complex investigation into heat and mass transfer and theirinterrelations.
A. V. Luikov developed the mechanism of heat andmoisture transfer in capillary-porous bodies and on
this basis suggested the system of differential equationsof heat and mass transfer in ~pillary-porous
bodies.
This system of differential equations was solved for awide number of probiems and different boundary conditions. The great influence of molar moisture transfer
caused by thermal and diffusion slip was shown, andas a result, a law was formulated on mass transfer
in capillary-porous bodies for non-isothe~alconditions.
A. V. Luikov developed the methods for determining
optimum and rational drying regimes based on theregularities of the heat- and moisture-transfer mechanism in papillary-~rousbodies. In particular, thetheorv of an evaporation zone deepening in the processof drying received its completion in his works.
Numerous investigations by Luikov provided thebasis for creating a modern theory of drying moist
materials.
Luikov showed that most of the problems (especiallytransient) of simultaneous heat and mass transfer fora body in a gas flow required conjugated mathematicalformulation, since for such problems it was impossible

LUIKOV

to formulate a priori the boundary conditions at theinterface between the body and the surrounding
medium. New effective methods and operative means
were developed for solving conjugated problems. Thus,a general theory of heat and mass transfer in capillaryporous bodies interacting with the surroundjng
medium was developed, similarity numbers and criteriaof such processes of mass and energy transfer wereestablished.
Luikov was the first to generalize Prigogine’s
principle on the rate of entropy change in transfer
processes. As a result, a new system of linear transfer
equations was obtained differing from Onsager’s systemin that the fluxes depend not only on thermodynamic
motive forces, but on the rate of their change and onthe time flux-derivatives as well. From this system ofgeneralized relationships the transfer equations wereobtained accounting for the finite rate of substancepropagation, and the hyperbolic differential heat conduction and diffusion equations were derived.
In his work Luikov extensively applied the LaplaceHeaviside operational method for the solution ofunsteady-state problems of heat conduction theory. As
a result the relation was established between thesimilarity theory (theory of dimensionless variables)
and the operational calculus, and the solutions intransformations acquired a specific physical meaning.
For the first time the boundary conditions of thefourth kind were introduced into the heat conduction
theory. Luikov showed that strict formulation of theproblems of convective heat transfer involving interaction of the surface with the surrounding medium
corresponded not to the boundary conditions of thethird kind, as had been formerly considered. but to theboundary conditions of the fourth kind. Thus. theboundary conditions of the fourth kind acquired highly
important and practiczi significance in the theory ofconvective heat transfer.
Luikov developed a new method of solving nonlinear heat-conduction problems, when thermophysicalproperties depend on co-ordinates. From this generalized method a number of well-known methods
followed for solving such problems.
From 1931 Luikov was developing rapid methods
for complex determination of thermophysical properties. These methods helped to demonstrate newphenomenon of heat-conduction anisotropy of disperse
systems, and polymeric solutions conditioned by shear
flow. It was shown that fluids with slowly erasing
or inlinit~l~ large mechanical memory containing
elongated elements (linear aacromoiecules,solidparticles) acquired tensor thermal conductivity as aresult of shear flow. The components of the tensor of

Alexei Vasilievich Luikov, 1910-19741283

the heat-conduction coefficient differed from its isoCentre for Heat and Mass Transfer of the Academies
tropic analogue by 200-300 per cent.
of Sciences of socialist countries, member of theIn recent years Luikov payed special attention to, Editorial Board of the Publishing House “Energia”.
Exceptionally fruitful were A. V. Luikov’s activities
and took a lively interest in, scientific prublems arisingat the junctions of classical disciplines, such as rheoas the Director of the Heat and Mass Transfer Institutephysics, aero-thermo-optics, plasmochemistry and to of the Byelorussian Academy of Sciences to which post
other perspective trends.
he was named in 1956. In a short period of time, theA characteristic feature of the work of Luikov was initially small team of thirty workers grew into a worldknown scientific centre on thermal physics. For these
the combination of fundamental physical research withpractical engineering solutions of the problems andyears the Institute gave life to a number of separate
institutes such as the Institute of Nuclear Engineering,
their wide introduction into practice. In 1931 he got
his first author’s claim on the invention of a “Variable
the Institute of Water Problems, the Byelorussian
Division of the All-Union Power Engineering Institute.
Pressure Drier” as the result of his researches on
The Heat and Mass Transfer Institute was the sponsor
dehydration of moist porous materials under different
and organiser of the All-Union Heat and Mass Transfer
pressures. Under Luikov’s guidance new equipment
Conferences which were held every fourth year fromwas designed and constructed for drying photo1961 in Minsk and which were attended by thousands
emulsions, a‘ model of which was exhibited in Brusselsof Soviet and hundreds of foreign scientists. For greatand Geneva in 1958. On the basis of his outstanding
scientific achievements and successes in training scientheoretical investigations on freeze-drying a plant wastific personnel, in 1969, the Institute was honoured
built in the U.S.S.R. in 1955; its industrial capacitywith the high governmental award. the Order of the
had then no equal elsewhere in the world.
For more than 40 years of his research work A. V. Red Banner of Labour.
A. V. Luikov’s great contributions to the thermal
Luikov published about 250 papers and 18 monographs
including “Theory of Drying”, “Transfer Phenomenascience received deserved recognition. In 1956, he waselected an Acade~cian of the Byelorussion Academyin Capillary-porous
Bodies”, “Heat Conduction
Theory”? “Theory of Energy and Mass Transfer”,of Sciences, in 1957, a member of the Academy ofConstruction and Architecture of the U.S.S.R., in 1957,“Handbook of Heat and Mass Transfer”, etc. His
he was conferred with the title of Honoured Scientist
monographs were translated and published in England,of the R.S.F.S.R., in 1967, A. V. Luikov was honoured
Germany, France, Hungary, U.S.A. and other countries.
In 1951, for his monograph “Theory of Drying” (1950) with the highest award in the U.S.S.R., the Order ofLenin. and in 1970 received the Order of the Red Banner
A. V. Luikov was awarded the State Prize of the first
degree and for his monograph “Heat Conductionof Labour.
A. V. Luikov ascribed great importance to interTheory”, issued twice in the U.S.S.R. and publishednational cooperation of scientists and strived for its
abroad, A. V. Luikov received the highest award inpower engineering in the U.S.S.R., the I. I. Polzunov
fostering. His achievements in this field were acknowledged in many countries of the world. In 1969, Luikov
Award, in 1969.
Under Luikov’s guidance 131 candidate and 27 was elected an Honoured Foreign Member of Mechdoctorate theses were prepared and successfully
anics Department of the Polish Academy of Sciences,defended.
in 1971, for his contributions to the development ofIn addition to his scientific research work, A. V. heat and mass transfer science in Czechoslovakia heLuikov was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Engineerwas awarded by the Government of the Republic ofing Physics since 1958, U.S.S.R. Editor of the InterCzechoslovakia the Gold Medal “For Merits innational Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer since ‘--Development of Friendship and Co-operation with1959, Co-chairman of the U.S.S.R. Advisory Editorial
CSSR”, in 1973 A. V. Luikov was awarded the Gold
Board of the Journal “Heat Transfer-Soviet
Re- Medal of the French Institute of combustibles andsearch”, Chairman of the Committee on Drying of theEnergy.
Council of Scientific and Engineering Societies of theProfessor A. V. Luikov has passed away in the primeR.S.F.S.R., Vice-chairman of the National Committeeof his creative activity when he still cherished manyfor Heat and Mass Transfer of the U.S.S.R. Academy
scientific endeavours. His death is a heavy loss to theof Sciences, delegate of the Assembly of International
heat and mass transfer science and deep regret to thoseHeat Transfer Conferences, member of the Scientific
who worked with him, knew him and loved him. We
shall revere the memory of Academician A. V. Luikov.
Council of the International Centre for Heat and MassTransfer, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the