Linear and nonlinear stability analysis of binary Maxwell fluid convection in a porous medium

The stability analysis of the quiescent state in a Maxwell fluid-saturated densely packed porous medium subject to vertical concentration and temperature gradients is presented. A single phase model with local thermal equilibrium between the porous matrix and the Maxwell fluid is assumed. The critical Darcy–Rayleigh numbers and the corresponding wave numbers for the onset of stationary and oscillatory convection are determined. A Lorenz like system is obtained for weakly nonlinear stability analysis.     

Stability of the equilibrium state in a convection model with nonlinear temperature and pressure dependences of density

The convection of a heat-conducting viscous liquid is considered. It is assumed that the liquid density depends quadratically on the temperature and pressure. The instability of the equilibrium state of a free-boundary horizontal layer with respect to small perturbations is studied using a linearization method. It is found that the state of mechanical equilibrium is unstable. Neutral curves are constructed and the critical Rayleigh numbers are found. The results are compared with the well-known solution of the same problem for the limiting case where the density is a quadratic function of temperature and does not depend on pressure. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 66–74, March–April, 2007.     

Onset of unsteady axi-symmetric laminar natural convection in a vertical cylindrical enclosure heated at the wall

In the present study laminar transition to oscillatory convection of fluids having different Prandtl numbers in a laterally heated vertical cylindrical enclosure for different aspect ratios (melt height to crucible radius) of 2–4 is investigated numerically for 0.01 ≤ Pr ≤ 10. Numerical solution to two-dimensional axisymmetric transient Navier Stokes equations and energy equation were solved by finite volume method using SIMPLE algorithm. Numerical results illustrate that there exists a critical Rayleigh number for each Prandtl number beyond which sustained laminar oscillatory flow sets in. The oscillatory regime was characterised by the oscillation of the average kinetic energy and average thermal energy of the melt. For a given aspect ratio, critical Rayleigh number increases with Pr upto 1 and then flattens. It was observed that for low Prandtl number fluids, Pr < 1.0, critical Rayleigh number is found to increase with increase in aspect ratio while for high Prandtl number fluids, Pr ≥ 1.0, it is found to decrease with increase in aspect ratio. The influence of aspect ratio on the transient behaviour of the melt volume below and above the critical Rayleigh number was studied.     

Combined effect of thermal modulation and rotation on the onset of stationary convection in a porous layer

The stability of a fluid-saturated horizontal rotating porous layer subjected to time-periodic temperature modulation is investigated when the condition for the principle of exchange of stabilities is valid. The linear stability analysis is used to study the effect of infinitesimal disturbances. A regular perturbation method based on small amplitude of applied temperature field is used to compute the critical values of Darcy–Rayleigh number and wavenumber. The shift in critical Darcy–Rayleigh number is calculated as a function of frequency of modulation, Taylor number, and Darcy–Prandtl number. It is established that the convection can be advanced by the low frequency in-phase and lower-wall temperature modulation, where as delayed by the out-of-phase modulation. The effect of Taylor number and Darcy–Prandtl number on the stability of the system is also discussed. We found that by proper tuning of modulation frequency, Taylor number, and Darcy–Prandtl number it is possible to advance or delay the onset of convection.     

Comparison of low Mach number models for natural convection problems

 We investigate in this paper two numerical methods for solving low Mach number compressible flows and their application to single-phase natural convection flow problems. The first method is based on an asymptotic model of the Navier–Stokes equations valid for small Mach numbers, whereas the second is based on the full compressible Navier–Stokes equations with particular care given to the discretization at low Mach numbers. These models are more general than the Boussinesq incompressible flow model, in the sense that they are valid even for cases in which the fluid is subjected to large temperature differences, that is when the compressibility of the fluid manifests itself through low Mach number effects. Numerical solutions are computed for a series of test problems with fixed Rayleigh number and increasing temperature differences, as well as for varying Rayleigh number for a given temperature difference. Numerical difficulties associated with low Mach number effects are discussed, as well as the accuracy of the approximations. Received on 17 January 2000     

Convective Roll Instabilities of Vertical Throughflow with Viscous Dissipation in a Horizontal Porous Layer

The vertical throughflow with viscous dissipation in a horizontal porous layer is studied. The horizontal plane boundaries are assumed to be isothermal with unequal temperatures and bottom heating. A basic stationary solution of the governing equations with a uniform vertical velocity field (throughflow) is determined. The temperature field in the basic solution depends only on the vertical coordinate. Departures from the linear heat conduction profile are displayed by the temperature distribution due to the forced convection effect and to the viscous dissipation effect. A linear stability analysis of the basic solution is carried out in order to determine the conditions for the onset of convective rolls. The critical values of the wave number and of the Darcy–Rayleigh number are determined numerically by the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. It is shown that, although generally weak, the effect of viscous dissipation yields an increase of the critical value of the Darcy–Rayleigh number for downward throughflow and a decrease in the case of upward throughflow. Finally, the limiting case of a vanishing boundary temperature difference is discussed.     

Rayleigh-Benard problem for an anomalous fluid

The stability of the state of rest of a heated infinite horizontal layer of a viscous heat-conducting fluid (the Rayleigh-Benard problem) is considered. The equation of state for the fluid takes into account the nonmonotonic temperature and pressure dependence of water density. Instability of the mechanical equilibrium with respect to small monotonic perturbations is studied. The effect of the problem parameters on the Rayleigh numbers and their corresponding critical motions is investigated numerically using linear theory. Numerical investigation of the spectral problem is based on the Godunov-Abramov orthogonalization method. The calculation results are compared with the well-known results for the limiting case where the density is considered a quadratic function of temperature and does not depend on pressure. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 27–38, March–April, 2007.     

Experimental study of the instability of convective boundary layers under the action of vibration

The wave instability of convective boundary layers in a horizontal cylindrical layer of ethanol under the action of vertical hamonic high-frequency vibration is studied. A strong destabilizing effect of the vibration on the stability of the convective boundary layers is detected. In the plane of the gravity and vibration Rayleigh numbers (Ra and R _V ), the excitation limit of the wave instability is determined. The periods of the temperature oscillations caused by the waves in the boundary layers near the inner and outer cavity boundaries are studied as functions of the Rayleigh numbers. Perm’. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 32–40, May–June, 1998.     

Convective instability in the presence of volume energy release

The problem of the convective instability of a plane fluid layer bounded by rigid walls with heating in a narrow layer running parallel to the walls inside the volume in question is solved. Instability criteria depending on the location of the heated layer and the Rayleigh numbers of the upper and lower layers are found. The results are compared with those for a plane layer with uniform energy release inside the volume. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 8–15, January–February, 1997. The work was carried out with partial support from the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research (project No. 95-01-00354a).     

Convective instability of a system of horizontal layers of slightly compressible liquids

The convective stability of a system of two immiscible liquids with close densities is studied. The densities of the liquids depend nonlinearly on temperature and pressure. It is shown that the state of mechanical equilibrium is unstable. Neutral curves are plotted, and the critical values of the Rayleigh number are found. The calculations are performed for physical parameters characteristic of various northern, central, and southern zones of lake Baikal. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 15–22, July–August, 2007.     

The Horton–Rogers–Lapwood Problem Revisited: The Effect of Pressure Work

The problem of the onset of convective roll instabilities in a horizontal porous layer with isothermal boundaries at unequal temperatures, well known as the Horton–Rogers–Lapwood problem, is revisited including the effect of pressure work and viscous dissipation in the local energy balance. A linear stability analysis of rolls disturbances is performed. The analysis shows that, while the contribution of viscous dissipation is ineffective, the contribution of the pressure work may be important. The condition of marginal stability is investigated by adopting two solution procedures: method of weighted residuals and explicit Runge–Kutta method. The pressure work term in the energy balance yields an increase of the value of the Darcy–Rayleigh number at marginal stability. In other words, the effect of pressure work is a stabilizing one. Furthermore, while the critical value of the Darcy– Rayleigh number may be considerably affected by the pressure work contribution, the critical value of the wave number is affected only in rather extreme cases, i.e. for very high values of the Gebhart number. A nonlinear stability analysis is also performed pointing out that the joint effects of viscous dissipation and pressure work result in a reduction of the excess Nusselt number due to convection, when the Darcy–Rayleigh number is replaced by the superadiabatic Darcy–Rayleigh number.     

Stability for Rayleigh–Benard Convective Solutions of the Boltzmann Equation

We consider the Boltzmann equation for a gas in a horizontal slab, subject to a gravitational force. The boundary conditions are of diffusive type, specifying the wall temperatures, so that the top temperature is lower than the bottom one (Benard setup). We consider a 2-dimensional convective stationary solution, which for small Knudsen numbers is close to the convective stationary solution of the Oberbeck–Boussinesq equations, near and above the bifurcation point, and prove its stability under 2-d small perturbations, for Rayleigh numbers above and close to the bifurcation point and for small Knudsen numbers.     

Effect of Thermal/Gravity Modulation on the Onset of Convection in a Maxwell Fluid Saturated Porous Layer

The effect of thermal/gravity modulation on the onset of convection in a Maxwell fluid saturated porous layer is investigated by a linear stability analysis. Modified Darcy–Maxwell model is used to describe the fluid motion. The regular perturbation method based on the small amplitude of modulation is employed to compute the critical Rayleigh number and the corresponding wavenumber. The stability of the system characterized by a correction Rayleigh number is calculated as a function of the viscoelastic parameter, Darcy–Prandtl number, normalized porosity, and the frequency of modulation. It is found that the low frequency symmetric thermal modulation is destabilizing while moderate and high frequency symmetric modulation is always stabilizing. The asymmetric modulation and lower wall temperature modulations are, in general, stabilizing while the system becomes unstable for large values of Darcy–Prandtl number and for small frequencies. It is shown that in general the gravity modulation produces a stabilizing effect on the onset of convection for moderate and high frequency. The small frequency gravity modulation is found to have destabilizing effect on the stability of the system.     

Onset of Buoyancy-driven Instability in Porous Media Melted from Below

When a nonhomogeneous solid is melting from below, convection may be induced in a thermally–unstable melt layer. In this study, the onset of buoyancy-driven convection during time-dependent melting is investigated by using similarly transformed disturbance equations. The critical Darcy–Rayleigh numbers based on the melt-layer thickness, Ra _H,c, are found numerically for various conditions. For small superheats, the present predictions show that Ra _H,c is located between 27.1 and 4π ² and it approaches the well-known results of the original Horton–Rogers–Lapwood problem. However, for high superheats, it is dependent on the phase change rate λ and the relation of Ra _H,c λ = 25.89 is shown.     

Effect of anisotropy of porous media on the onset of buoyancy-driven convection

A theoretical analysis of buoyancy-driven instability under transient basic fields is conducted in an initially quiescent, fluid-saturated, horizontal porous layer. Darcy’s law is used to explain characteristics of fluid motion and the anisotropy of permeability is considered. Under the Boussinesq approximation and the principle of exchange of stabilities, the stability equations are derived by using the linear stability theory and the energy method. The linear stability equations are analyzed numerically by using the frozen-time model and the linear amplification theory and the global stability limits are obtained numerically from the energy method. For the various anisotropic ratios, the critical times are predicted as a function of the Darcy–Rayleigh number and the critical Darcy–Rayleigh number is also obtained. The present predictions are compared each another and with existing theoretical ones.     

Thermal stratification studies in a side heated water pool for advanced heavy water reactor applications

Strong heat source at the isolation condenser wall of an Advanced Heavy Water Reactor, results in natural convection in gravity driven water pool, which leads to a thermally stratified pool. Governing equations simulating fluid flow and heat distribution are solved numerically by a general purpose Computational Fluid Dynamics solver developed at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Incompressible finite volume method with non-staggered grid arrangement is used in this exercise. This algorithm is fully implicit and semi-coupled. Turbulent natural convection in a boundary layer for high Rayleigh numbers is analyzed by the Lam–Bremhorst k − ε turbulence model. Analysis of unsteady laminar natural convection in a side-heated water cavity is also done for different values of Rayleigh number. Results show a warm fluid layer floating on the top of gradually colder layer (along the vertical direction) that indicates the presence of thermal stratification phenomenon. This fact necessitates additional safety features in such a system so that the detrimental effect such as stratification is minimized.     

Inertial obukhov-bolgiano interval in shell models of convective turbulence

The shell model of developed convective turbulence of an incompressible fluid is considered. Regimes developing at high Rayleigh numbers are investigated numerically for three- and two-dimensional motion. It is shown that in the three-dimensional turbulent convection model the inertial Obukhov-Bolgiano interval is developed on large scales, but this interval is unstable and gives way to the Kolmogorov regime in which the temperature behaves as a passive admixture. In the two-dimensional turbulent convection model a finite scale interval on which the buoyancy forces determine the nature of the fluctuations but the spectral laws established differ from those that follow from dimensional considerations for the Obukhov-Bolgiano interval is detected. Perm’. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 37–46, November–December, 1998. The work was carried out with financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 94-01-00951a).     

Estimating the Hydraulic Conductivity of Two-Dimensional Fracture Networks Using Network Geometric Properties

Based on a modified Darcy–Brinkman–Maxwell model, a linear stability analysis of a Maxwell fluid in a horizontal porous layer heated from below by a constant flux is carried out. The non-oscillatory instability and oscillatory instability with different hydrodynamic boundaries such as rigid and free surfaces at the bottom are studied. Compared with the rigid surface cases, onset of fluid motion due to non-oscillatory instability and oscillatory instability is found to occur both more easily for the system with a free bottom surface. The critical Rayleigh number for onset of fluid motion due to non-oscillatory instability is lower with a constant flux heating bottom than with an isothermal heating bottom, but the result due to oscillatory instability is in contrast. The effects of the Darcy number, the relaxation time, and the Prandtl number on the critical Rayleigh number are also discussed.     

Natural Convection in a Cavity Filled with Porous Layers on the Top and Bottom Walls

Natural convection in a partially filled porous square cavity is numerically investigated using SIMPLEC method. The Brinkman-Forchheimer extended model was used to govern the flow in the porous medium region. At the porous-fluid interface, the flow boundary condition imposed is a shear stress jump, which includes both the viscous and inertial effects, together with a continuity of normal stress. The thermal boundary condition is continuity of temperature and heat flux. The results are presented with flow configurations and isotherms, local and average Nusselt number along the cold wall for different Darcy numbers from 10⁻¹ to 10⁻⁶, porosity values from 0.2 to 0.8, Rayleigh numbers from 10³ to 10⁷, and the ratio of porous layer thickness to cavity height from 0 to 0.50. The flow pattern inside the cavity is affected with these parameters and hence the local and global heat transfer. A modified Darcy–Rayleigh number is proposed for the heat convection intensity in porous/fluid filled domains. When its value is less than unit, global heat transfer keeps unchanged. The interfacial stress jump coefficients β ₁ and β ₂ were varied from  −1 to +1, and their effects on the local and average Nusselt numbers, velocity and temperature profiles in the mid-width of the cavity are investigated.     

Effects of a.c. Electric Field and Rotation on Bénard–Marangoni Convection

The coupled buoyancy and thermocapillary instability, the Bénard–Marangoniproblem, in an electrically conducting fluid layer whose upper surface is deformed and subject to a temperature gradient is studied. Both influences of an a.c. electric field and rotation are investigated. Special attention is directed at the occurrence of convection both in the form of stationary motion and oscillatory convection. The linear stability problem is solved for different values of the relevant dimensionless numbers, namely the a.c. electric Rayleigh number, the Taylor, Rayleigh, Biot, Crispation and Prandtl numbers. For steady convection, it is found that by increasing the angular velocity, one reinforces the stability of the fluid layer whatever the values of the surface deformation and the applied a.c. electric field. We have also determined the regions of oscillatory instability and discussed the competition between both stationary and oscillatory convections. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.