Onset of convection in a horizontal porous channel with uniform heat generation using a thermal nonequilibrium model

This paper considers the onset of free convection in a horizontal fluid-saturated porous layer with uniform heat generation. Attention is focused on cases where the fluid and solid phases are not in local thermal equilibrium, and where two energy equations describe the evolution of the temperature of each phase. Standard linearized stability theory is used to determine how the criterion for the onset of convection varies with the inter-phase heat transfer coefficient, H, and the porosity-modified thermal conductivity ratio, γ. We also present asymptotic solutions for small values of H. Excellent agreement is obtained between the asymptotic and the numerical results.     

Unsteady natural convection in a liquid-saturated porous enclosure with local thermal non-equilibrium effect

Stability analysis of free convection in a liquid-saturated sparsely-packed porous medium with local-thermal-non-equilibrium (LTNE) effect is presented. For the vertical boundaries free–free, adiabatic and rigid–rigid, adiabatic are considered while for horizontal boundaries it is the stress-free, isothermal and rigid–rigid, isothermal boundary combinations we consider. From the linear theory, it is apparent that there is advanced onset of convection in a shallow enclosure followed by that in square and tall enclosures. Asymptotic analysis of the thermal Rayleigh number for small and large values of the inter-phase heat transfer coefficient is reported. Results of Darcy–Bénard convection (DBC) and Rayleigh–Bénard convection can be obtained as limiting cases of the study. LTNE effect is prominent in the case of Brinkman–Bénard convection compared to that in DBC. Using a multi-scale method and by performing a non-linear stability analysis the Ginzburg–Landau equation is derived from the five-mode Lorenz modal. Heat transport is estimated at the lower plate of the channel. The effect of the Brinkman number, the porous parameter and the inter-phase heat transfer coefficient is to favour delayed onset of convection and thereby enhanced heat transport while the porosity-modified ratio of thermal conductivities shows the opposite effect.

     

Anisotropy effect on the convection of a heat-conducting fluid in a porous medium and cosymmetry of the Darcy problem

The onset of convection in a porous rectangle is analyzed with account for the anisotropy of the thermal parameters and the permeability. For the Darcy–Boussinesq equations the conditions under which the problem pertains to the class of cosymmetric systems are established and explicit formulas for the critical Rayleigh numbers corresponding to the loss of stability of the mechanical equilibrium are derived. The critical numbers and the branching stationary convection regimes are calculated using a finite difference method conserving the problem cosymmetry.     

Effet d'une modulation magnétique sur le seuil d'instabilité convectif au sein d'une couche de liquide magnétique chauffée par le haut

The effect of a time-periodic magnetic field on the onset of convection in a horizontal magnetic fluid layer heated from above and bounded by isothermal nonmagnetic boundaries is investigated. We consider the case where the magnetic field obeys a periodic rectangular pulse. A first-order Galerkin method is performed to reduce the governing linear system to a parametric differential equation. Therefore, the Floquet theory is used to determine the convective threshold for the rigid–rigid and free–free cases. With an appropriate choice of the ratio of the magnetic and gravitational forces, we show the possibility to produce a competition between the harmonic and subharmonic modes at the onset of convection.     

Onset of Convection in a Porous Rectangle with Buoyancy Along an Open Sidewall

The onset of thermal convection in a two-dimensional porous box is investigated analytically. One of the two lateral boundaries is in contact with a hydrostatic reservoir, where the saturating fluid can flow freely in and out. This open boundary is thermally insulating, but with the buoyancy of the fluid taken into account. For the second lateral wall, we study five different options for the boundary conditions. This leads to five different eigenvalue problems for the onset of convection. These five solutions are compared with the known solutions where the buoyancy along open sidewalls is neglected (Tyvand 2002).     

Internal gravity waves in critical generation modes and in the vicinity of trajectories of motion of perturbation sources

The field of internal gravity waves in a layer of an arbitrary stratified fluid is studied for critical generation modes and in the vicinity of trajectories of motion of the perturbation sources. The exact solutions describing the structure of a separate mode of the wave field in the vicinity of the perturbation source in the critical generation modes are investigated, and expressions for the total field representing the sum of all wave modes are obtained. In the vicinity of the trajectories of the perturbation sources, asymptotic representations of the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the basic vertical spectral problem of internal waves are constructed in the approximation of large wave numbers and asymptotic expressions for a separate mode of the wave field are obtained that describe the spatial structure and features of the fields of internal gravity waves. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 5, pp. 70–79, September–October, 2008.     

Stability analysis of thermosolutal convection in a horizontal porous layer using a thermal non-equilibrium model

A stability analysis is carried out to investigate the onset of thermosolutal convection in a horizontal porous layer when the solid and fluid phases are not in a local thermal equilibrium, and the solubility of the dissolved component depends on temperature. To study how the reaction and thermal non-equilibrium affect the double-diffusive convection, the effects of scaled inter-phase heat transfer coefficient H and dimensionless reaction rate k on thermosolutal convection are discussed . The critical Rayleigh number and the corresponding wave number for the stability and overstability convections are obtained. Specially, asymptotic analysis for both small and large values of H and k is presented, and the corresponding asymptotic solutions are compared with numerical results. At last, a nonlinear stability analysis is presented to study how H and k affect the Nusselt number.     

The Onset of Prandtl–Darcy–Prats Convection in a Horizontal Porous Layer

We consider the effect of finite Prandtl–Darcy numbers of the onset of convection in a porous layer heated isothermally from below and which is subject to a horizontal pressure gradient. A dispersion relation is found which relates the critical Darcy–Rayleigh number and the induced phase speed of the cells to the wavenumber and the imposed Péclet and Prandtl–Darcy numbers. Exact numerical solutions are given and these are supplemented by asymptotic solutions for both large and small values of the governing nondimensional parameters. The classical value of the critical Darcy–Rayleigh number is $4\pi ^2$ 4 π 2 , and we show that this value increases whenever the Péclet number is nonzero and the Prandtl–Darcy number is finite simultaneously. The corresponding wavenumber is always less than $\pi $ π and the phase speed of the convection cells is always smaller than the background flux velocity.     

Transient natural convection between horizontal concentric cylinders: Natural convection between concentric cylinders

The initial phase of transient natural convection between two horizontal concentric cylinders is investigated. Short-time solutions to the momentum and energy equations are obtained using the method of matched asymptotic expansions. The solutions for the velocity and temperature are expressed in terms of three expansions reflecting the existence of three distinct regions in the initial flow field, and four different patterns of motion may be distinguished, corresponding to four different types of thermal boundary conditions.     

The Effect of Heavy Oil Viscosity Reduction by Solvent Dissolution on Natural Convection in the Boundary Layer of VAPEX

We have studied the effect of viscosity on natural convection in the boundary layer of the vapor extraction (VAPEX) process. VAPEX is a heavy oil recovery method that uses solvents to reduce oil viscosity, and is a potential process in reservoirs where thermal recovery methods cannot be applied. Natural convection may happen in VAPEX if the solvents that are used to decrease oil viscosity increase the density of the oil. This can especially occur with $\text{ CO }_{2}$ CO 2 -based solvents. Reduction of the oil viscosity due to solvent dissolution can have a large impact on the onset of convection by decreasing the critical Rayleigh number. When the viscosity reduction is significant, the critical Rayleigh can decrease up to two orders of magnitude. The transverse Peclet number is also a crucial parameter in determining the critical Rayleigh and onset of convection. Our analysis shows that the longitudinal Peclet does not have a significant impact on the natural convention in VAPEX. When oil viscosity reduction is included in the analysis of boundary layer instability in VAPEX, natural convection may occur in high-permeable reservoirs (where Rayleigh number is high) leading to a greater oil production rate compared with current models where the effect of boundary layer instability has been ignored.     

Effect of trigonometric sine,square and triangular wave-type time-periodic gravity-aligned oscillations on Rayleigh–Bénard convection in Newtonian liquids and Newtonian nanoliquids

The influence of trigonometric sine, square and triangular wave-types of time-periodic gravity-aligned oscillations on Rayleigh–Bénard convection in Newtonian liquids and in Newtonian nanoliquids is studied in the paper using the generalized Buongiorno two-phase model. The five-mode Lorenz model is derived under the assumptions of Boussinesq approximation, small-scale convective motion and some slip mechanisms. Using the method of multiscales, the Lorenz model is transformed to a Ginzburg–Landau equation the solution of which helps in quantifying the heat transport through the Nusselt number. Enhancement of heat transport in Newtonian liquids due to the presence of nanoparticles/nanotubes is clearly explained. The study reveals that all the three wave types of gravity modulation delay the onset of convection and thereby to a diminishment of heat transport. It is also found that in the case of trigonometric sine type of gravity modulation heat transport is intermediate to that of the cases of triangular and square types. The paper is the first such work that attempts to theoretically explain the effect of three different wave-types of gravity modulation on onset of convection and heat transport in the presence/absence of nanoparticles/nanotubes. Comparing the heat transport by the single-phase and by the generalized two-phase models, the conclusion is that the single-phase model under-predicts heat transport in nanoliquids irrespective of the type of gravity modulation being effected on the system. The results of the present study reiterate the findings of related experimental and numerical studies.

     

The Linear Vortex Instability of the Near-vertical Line Source Plume in Porous Media

Free convection plumes usually rise vertically, but do not do so when in an asymmetrical environment. In such cases they are susceptible to a thermoconvective instability because warmer fluid lies below cooler fluid in the upper half of the plume. We analyse the behaviour of streamwise vortex disturbances in plumes that are close to being vertical. The linearised equations subject to the boundary layer approximation are parabolic and are solved using a marching method. Our computations indicate that disturbances tend to be centred in the upper half of the plume. A neutral curve is determined and an asymptotic theory is developed to describe the right hand branch of this curve. The left hand branch is not amenable to an asymptotic analysis, and it is found that the onset of convection for small wavenumbers is very sensitively dependent on both the profile of the initiating disturbance and where it is introduced.     

Double-diffusive convection for a heated cylinder submerged in a salt-stratified fluid layer

Double-diffusive convection due to a cylindrical source submerged in a salt-stratified solution is numerically investigated in this study. For proper simulation of the vortex generated around the cylinder, a computational domain with irregular shape is employed. Flow conditions depend strongly on the thermal Rayleigh number, Ra _T , and the buoyancy ratio, R _ρ. There are two types of onset of instability existing in the flow field. Both types are due to either the interaction of the upward temperature gradient and downward salinity gradient or the interaction of the lateral temperature gradient and downward salinity gradient. The onset of layer instability due to plume convection is due to the former, whereas, the onset of layer instability of layers around the cylinder is due to the latter. Both types can be found in the flow field. The transport mechanism of layers at the top of the basic plume belongs to former while that due to basic plume and layer around the cylinder are the latter. The increase in Ra _T reinforces the plume convection and reduces the layer numbers generated around the cylinder for the same buoyancy ratio. For the same Ra _T , the increase of R _ρ suppresses the plume convection but reinforces the layers generated around the cylinder. The profiles of local Nusselt number reflects the heat transfer characteristics of plume convection and layered structure. The profiles of averaged Nusselt number are between the pure conduction and natural convection modes and the variation is due to the evolution of layers. Received on 13 September 1996     

A linear stability analysis on the onset of thermal convection of a fluid with strongly temperature-dependent viscosity in a spherical shell

A linear stability analysis was performed in order to study the onset of thermal convection in the presence of a strong viscosity variation, with a special emphasis on the condition for the stagnant-lid (ST) convection where a convection takes place only in a sublayer beneath a highly viscous lid of cold fluid. We consider the temporal evolution (growth or decay) of an infinitesimal perturbation superimposed to a Boussinesq fluid with an infinite Prandtl number which is in a static (motionless) and conductive state in a basally heated planar layer or spherical shell. The viscosity of the fluid is assumed to be exponentially dependent on temperature. The linearized equations for conservations of mass, momentum, and internal (thermal) energy are numerically solved for the critical Rayleigh number, Ra _c , as well as the radial profiles of eigenfunctions for infinitesimal perturbations. The above calculations are repeatedly carried out by systematically varying (i) the magnitude of the temperature dependence of viscosity, E, and (ii) the ratio of the inner and outer radii of the spherical shell, γ. A careful analysis of the vertical structure of incipient flows demonstrated that the dominance of the ST convection can be quantitatively identified by the vertical profile of Δ _h (a measure of conversion between horizontal and vertical flows), regardless of the model geometries. We also found that, in the spherical shell relevant to the Earth’s mantle (γ = 0.55), the transition into ST convection takes place at the viscosity contrast across the layer ${r_\eta\simeq10^4}$ . Taken together with the fact that the threshold value of r _η falls in the range of r _η for a so-called sluggish-lid convection, our finding suggests that the ST-mode of convection with horizontally elongated convection cells is likely to arise in the Earth’s mantle solely from the temperature-dependent viscosity.     

A systematic derivation of a consistent set of “Boussinesq equations”

The often used “Boussinesq equations” for the determination of the coupled flow and temperature field in natural convection are systematically deduced by an asymptotic approach. With the nondimensional temperature difference that drives the flow, ?, as a perturbation parameter the leading order equations are identified as the appropriate equations, named “asymptotic Boussinesq equations”. These equations appear as the distinguished limit $\varepsilon\rightarrow0The often used “Boussinesq equations” for the determination of the coupled flow and temperature field in natural convection are systematically deduced by an asymptotic approach. With the nondimensional temperature difference that drives the flow, ɛ, as a perturbation parameter the leading order equations are identified as the appropriate equations, named “asymptotic Boussinesq equations”. These equations appear as the distinguished limit e?0\varepsilon\rightarrow0 and Ec? 0{Ec}\rightarrow 0 with Ec/e = const.{Ec}/\varepsilon =const. The equations are compared to “Boussinesq equations” of other studies and used to calculate Nusselt numbers in laminar and turbulent flows in infinite vertical channels as an example and for the justification of the asymptotic approach.     

Steady thermocapillary-buoyant convection in a shallow annular pool. Part 2: Two immiscible fluids

This work is devoted to the study of steady thermocapillary-buoyant convection in a system of two horizontal superimposed immiscible liquid layers filling a lateral heated thin annular pool.The governing equations are solved using an asymptotic theory for the aspect ratios ε→ 0.Asymptotic solutions of the velocity and temperature fields are obtained in the core region away from the cylinder walls.In order to validate the asymptotic solutions,numerical simulations are also carried out and the results are compared to each other.It is found that the present asymptotic solutions are valid in most of the core region.And the applicability of the obtained asymptotic solutions decreases with the increase of the aspect ratio and the thickness ratio of the two layers.For a system of gallium arsenide (lower layer) and boron oxide (upper layer),the buoyancy slightly weakens the thermocapillary convection in the upper layer and strengthens it in the lower layer.     

Effect of Thermal Non-Equilibrium on Convective Instability in a Ferromagnetic Fluid-Saturated Porous Medium

The effect of local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) on the onset of thermomagnetic convection in a ferromagnetic fluid-saturated horizontal porous layer in the presence of a uniform vertical magnetic field is investigated. A modified Forchheimer-extended Darcy equation is employed to describe the flow in the porous medium, and a two-field model is used for temperature representing the solid and fluid phases separately. It is found that both the critical Darcy–Rayleigh number and the corresponding wave number are modified by the LTNE effects. Asymptotic solutions for both small and large values of scaled interphase heat transfer coefficient H _t are presented and compared with those computed numerically. An excellent agreement is obtained between the asymptotic and the numerical results. Besides, the influence of magnetic parameters on the instability of the system is also discussed. The available results in the literature are recovered as particular cases from the present study.     

Stress intensity factor analysis of a three-dimensional interfacial corner between anisotropic bimaterials under thermal stress

A numerical method using a path-independent H-integral based on the conservation integral was developed to analyze the singular stress field of a three-dimensional interfacial corner between anisotropic bimaterials under thermal stress. In the present method, the shape of the corner front is smooth. According to the theory of linear elasticity, asymptotic stress near the tip of a sharp interfacial corner is generally singular as a result of a mismatch of the materials’ elastic constants. The eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions are obtained using the Williams eigenfunction method, which depends on the anisotropic materials’ properties and the geometry of an interfacial corner. The order of the singularity related to the eigenvalue is real, complex or power-logarithmic. The amplitudes of the singular stress terms can be calculated using the H-integral. The stress and displacement around an interfacial corner for the H-integral are obtained using finite element analysis. In this study, a proposed definition of the stress intensity factors of an interfacial corner, which includes those of an interfacial crack and a homogeneous crack, is used to evaluate the singular stress fields. Asymptotic solutions of stress and displacement around an interfacial corner front are uniquely obtained using these stress intensity factors. To prove the accuracy of the present method, several different kinds of examples are shown such as interfacial corners or cracks in three-dimensional structures.     

Dispersion de Taylor généralisée à un fluide à propriétés physiques variablesGeneralized Taylor dispersion for heterogeneous fluid

The investigation of non-reactive miscible solute dispersion in a vertical Hele–Shaw cell is considered. An asymptotic method is used to extend Taylor model to the case of the fluid density, the dynamic viscosity and the molecular diffusion coefficient are solute concentration-dependent. It is demonstrated that the averaged variables over the gap are governed by a convection–dispersion equation in which the dispersion tensor is concentration-dependent. To cite this article: C. Felder et al., C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).