Transient natural convection flow of a particulate suspension through a vertical channel

Continuum equations governing transient, laminar, fully-developed natural convection flow of a particulate suspension through an infinitely long vertical channel are developed. The equations account for particulate viscous effects which are absent from the original dusty-gas model. The walls of the channel are maintained at constant but different temperatures. No-slip boundary conditions are employed for the particle phase at the channel walls. The general transient problem is solved analytically using trigonometric Fourier series and the Laplace transform method. A parametric study of some physical parameters involved in the problem is performed to illustrate the influence of these parameters on the flow and thermal aspects of the problem.