Subcooled forced convection film boiling over a vertical flat plate embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium

The problem of subcooled forced convection film boiling on a vertical flat plate embedded in a porous medium was attacked exploiting similarity transformations on the governing equations and boundary conditions in both vapor and liquid layers. Similarity solutions were obtained to investigate the effects of the vapor super-heating and liquid subcooling. The heat transfer groupingNu _x /Ra _x ^1/2 is expressed in terms of a function of three parameters associated with the degree of liquid subcooling (Sub), the degree of vapor superheating (Sup) and the vapor buoyancy effect relative to the liquid forced convection effect (R). It is found that the level ofNu _x /Ra _x ^1/2 increases asSup orR decreases and asSub increases. Furthermore, asymptotic expressions were reduced considering the physical limiting conditions, namely, thin and thick vapor films.     

Nonsimilarity solutions for non-Darcy mixed convection from horizontal surfaces in a porous medium

Non-Darcy mixed convection in a porous medium from horizontal surfaces with variable surface heat flux of the power-law distribution is analyzed. The entire mixed convection regime is divided into two regions. The first region covers the forced convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ζ _f =Ra^* _x /Pe² _x is found to characterize the effect of buoyancy forces on the forced convection with K ^′ U _∞/ν characterizing the effect of inertia resistance. The second region covers the natural convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ζ _n =Pe _x /Ra^*1/2 _x is found to characterize the effect of the forced flow on the natural convection, with (K ^′ U _∞/ν)Ra^*1/2 _x /Pe _x characterizing the effect of inertia resistance. To obtain the solution that covers the entire mixed convection regime the solution of the first regime is carried out for ζ _f =0, the pure forced convection limit, to ζ _f =1 and the solution of the second is carried out for ζ _n =0, the pure natural convection limit, to ζ _n =1. The two solutions meet and match at ζ _f =ζ _n =1, and R ^* _h =G ^* _h . Also a non-Darcy model was used to analyze mixed convection in a porous medium from horizontal surfaces with variable wall temperature of the power-law form. The entire mixed convection regime is divided into two regions. The first region covers the forced convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ξ _f =Ra _x /Pe _x ^3/2 is found to measure the buoyancy effects on mixed convection with Da _x Pe _x /ɛ as the wall effects. The second region covers the natural convection dominated region where ξ _n =Pe _x /Ra _x ^2/3 is found to measure the force effects on mixed convection with Da _x Ra _x ^2/3/ɛ as the wall effects. Numerical results for different inertia, wall, variable surface heat flux and variable wall temperature exponents are presented. Received on 8 July 1996     

Non-Darcy mixed convection from a vertical plate in saturated porous media-variable surface heat flux

Nonsimilarity solutions for non-Darcy mixed convection from a vertical impermeable surface embedded in a saturated porous medium are presented for variable surface heat flux (VHF) of the power-law form. The entire mixed convection region is divided into two regimes. One region covers the forced convection dominated regime and the other one covers the natural convection dominated regime. The governing equations are first transformed into a dimensionless form by the nonsimilar transformation and then solved by a finite-difference scheme. Computations are based on Keller Box method and a tolerance of iteration of 10⁻⁵ as a criterion for convergence. Three physical aspects are introduced. One measures the strength of mixed convection where the dimensionless parameter Ra^* _x /Pe^3/2 _x characterizes the effect of buoyancy forces on the forced convection; while the parameter Pe _x /Ra^*2/3 _x characterizes the effect of forced flow on the natural convection. The second aspect represents the effect of the inertial resistance where the parameter K′U _∞/ν is found to characterize the effect of inertial force in the forced convection dominated regime, while the parameter (K′U _∞/ν)(Ra^*2/3 _x /Pe _x ) characterizes the effect of inertial force in the natural convection dominated regime. The third aspect is the effect of the heating condition at the wall on the mixed convection, which is presented by m, the power index of the power-law form heating condition. Numerical results for both heating conditions are carried out. Distributions of dimensionless temperature and velocity profiles for both Darcy and non-Darcy models are presented. Received on 26 May 1997     

A Summary of New Predictive High Frequency Thermo-Vibrational Models in Porous Media

In this paper, we consider the effect of mechanical vibration on the onset of convection in porous media. The porous medium is saturated either by a pure fluid or by a binary mixture. The importance of a transport model on stability diagrams is presented and discussed. The stability threshold for the Darcy–Brinkman case in the Ra _Tc -R and k _c -R diagrams is presented (where Ra _Tc , k _c and R are the critical Rayleigh number, the critical wave number and the vibration parameters, respectively). It is shown that there is a significant deviation from the Darcy model. In the thermo-solutal case with the Soret effect, the influence of vibration on the reduction of multi-cellular convection is emphasized. A new analytical relation for obtaining the threshold of mono-cellular convection is derived. This relation shows how the separation factor Ψ is related to the controlling parameters of the problem, Ψ = f (R, ε*, Le), when the wave number k → 0. The importance of vibrational parameter definition is highlighted and it is shown how, by using a proper definition for vibrational parameter, we may obtain compact relationship. It is also shown how this result may be used to increase component separation.     

Transport coefficients of an evaporating liquid drop in creeping flow

A theoretical analysis is made of the heat, mass and momentum transfer from an evaporative liquid sphere which is suddenly introduced into a parallel stream of fluid at a higher temperature. The velocity field around the liquid sphere is assumed to be steady and of the Hadamard-Rybczynski type. Numerical solutions of energy and the vapour mass continuity equations have been carried out using the alternate direction implicit scheme of finite difference method. Temporal histories of the average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers (Nu, Sh) alongwith the drag coefficient (C _D ) during the life time of an evaporating drop have been predicted in terms of the pertinent input parameters, namely, initial and instantaneous Peclet number (Pe _i ,Pe), Lewis number (Le), and the ratio of free stream to initial droplet temperature (T _a /T _i ). Variations of local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers withPe, in the region of steady state evaporation, have also been presented. Values ofNu for steady state droplet evaporation are found to be in fair agreement with the corresponding values evaluated from the empirical equation of Eisenklam [5].Es wurde eine theoretische Untersuchung der Wärme-, Massen- und Impulsübertragung eines verdampfenden kugelförmigen Fluidtropfens, welcher plötzlich in eine gleichgerichtete Fluidströmung höherer Temperatur eingeleitet wird, untersucht. Das Geschwindigkeitsprofil um den Fluidtropfen herum wurde als konstant und als ein Hadamard-Rybczynski-Profil angenommen. Unter Benutzung eines ADI-Schemas der Finiten-Differenzen-Methode wurden numerische Lösungen der Erhaltungsgleichungen für Energie und Dampfmasse gewonnen. Zeitliche Gesetzmäßigkeiten der durchschnittlichen Nusselt und Sherwood-Zahlen (Nu, Sh) und des Widerstandsbeiwertes (C _D ) bis zur vollständigen Verdampfung des Tropfens wurden in Abhängigkeit von den zugehörigen Eingabeparametern nämlich der Anfangs-und momentanen Peclet-Zahl (Pe _i ,Pe) der Lewis-Zahl und dem Verhältnis von freier Strömungstemperatur zur Eintrittstemperatur des Tropfens (T _a /T _i ) berechnet. Ebenso werden die lokalen Nusselt und Sherwood-Zahlen in Abhängigkeit von der Peclet-Zahl im Bereich der stationären Verdampfung dargestellt. Es wurde festgestellt, daß Werte der Nusselt-Zahl im Bereich der stationären Verdampfung von Tropfen in guter Übereinstimmung mit den entsprechenden berechneten Größen aus der empirischen Gleichung von Eisenklam liegen.     

Thermal Equilibrium in Transient Forced Convection Porous Channel Flow

The validity of the local thermal equilibrium assumption in the transient forced convection channel flow is investigated numerically. Axial conduction in both fluid and solid domains is included. It is found that five dimensionless parameters control the local thermal equilibrium assumption. These parameters are the thermal diffusivity ratio _R, the volumetric Nusselt number Nu, the dimensionless channel length _max, Peclet number Pe, and the solid to fluid total thermal capacity ratio C _R. The qualitative and quantitative aspects of the effects of these five parameters on the channel thermalization time are investigated.     

Natural convection from a vertical cylinder in a thermally stratified porous medium

The problem of non-Darcy natural convection adjacent to a vertical cylinder embedded in a thermally stratified porous medium has been analyzed. Nonsimilarity solutions are obtained for the case that the ambient temperature increases linearly with height of the cylinder. A generalized flow model was used in the present study to include the effects of the macroscopic viscous term and the microscopic inertial force. Also, the thermal dispersion effect is considered in the energy equation. Thus, the main aim of this work is to examine the effects of thermal stratification and non-Darcy flow phenomena on the free convection flow and heat transfer characteristics. It was found that the present problem depends on six parameters, namely, the local thermal stratification parameter ξ, the boundary effect parameter Bp, the modified Grashof number Gr^*, wall temperature exponent m, the curvature parameter ω, and the modified Rayleigh number based on pore diameter Ra _d . The impacts of these governing parameters on the local heat transfer parameter are discussed in great detail. Also, representative velocity and temperature profiles are presented at selected values of the thermal stratification parameter. In general, the local heat transfer parameter is increased with increasing the values of m, ω, and Ra _d ; while it is decreased with increasing the values of ξ, Bp, and Gr^*. Received on 19 May 1998     

Natural Convection Induced by a Centrifugal Force Field in a Horizontal Annular Porous Layer Saturated with a Binary Fluid

The Darcy Model with the Boussinesq approximation is used to study natural convection in a horizontal annular porous layer filled with a binary fluid, under the influence of a centrifugal force field. Neumann boundary conditions for temperature and concentration are applied on the inner and outer boundary of the enclosure. The governing parameters for the problem are the Rayleigh number, Ra, the Lewis number, Le, the buoyancy ratio, j{\varphi } , the radius ratio of the cavity, R, the normalized porosity, e{\varepsilon } , and parameter a defining double-diffusive convection (a = 0) or Soret induced convection (a = 1). For convection in a thin annular layer (R → 1), analytical solutions for the stream function, temperature and concentration fields are obtained using a concentric flow approximation and an integral form of the energy equation. The critical Rayleigh number for the onset of supercritical convection is predicted explicitly by the present model. Also, results are obtained from the analytical model for finite amplitude convection for which the flow and heat and mass transfer are presented in terms of the governing parameters of the problem. Numerical solutions of the full governing equations are obtained for a wide range of the governing parameters. A good agreement is observed between the analytical model and the numerical simulations.     

Conjugate heat transfer in enclosures with openings for ventilation

Conjugate heat transfer by natural convection and conduction in enclosures with openings has been studied by a numerical method. The enclosure contained a chimney consisting of a vertical solid wall, which was insulated on one side and a constant heat flux applied on the other. Vertical boundaries with openings were isothermal and horizontal boundaries adiabatic. These problems are encountered in heat transfer in buildings and heat management in electronic equipment. Two dimensional equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy, with the Boussinesq approximation are solved using the Simpler method. Various geometrical parameters were: aspect ratio, A from 0.5 to 2.0, openings' heights, h ₁ and h ₂ from 0.10 to 0.30, orifice height, h ₃ from 0.05 to 0.15, insulation thickness, w ₁ from 0 to 0.10, wall thickness, w ₂ from 0.05 to 0.15 and chimney width, w ₃ from 0.05 to 0.15. Rayleigh number, Ra was varied from 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹² and the conductivity ratio, k _r was from 1 to 40. The results are reduced in terms of the normalized Nusselt number, Nu and volume flow rate, V? as a function of Ra number, and other non dimensional geometrical parameters. The isotherms and streamlines are produced for various Ra numbers and geometrical conditions. It is found that Nu and V? are both an increasing function of Ra, h ₁ at high Ra numbers, h ₃, and k _r. They are a decreasing function of h ₁ at low Ra numbers, h ₂, and w ₂. Nu and V? have optima with respect to w ₁, w ₃ and A.     

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     

Onset of Buoyancy-Driven Convection in Porous Media Saturated with Cold Water Cooled from Above

When porous media saturated with initially stagnant cold water around the density maximum temperature are cooled from above, convection may be induced in an unstable lower layer. In this study, the onset of buoyancy-driven convection during time-dependent cooling is investigated using the propagation theory, which transforms disturbance equations similarly, and also considering the density inversion effect. The critical Darcy–Rayleigh number Ra _D,c is found as a function of the dimensionless density maximum temperature θ _max. For Ra _D > Ra _D,c the dimensionless critical time τ _c to mark the onset of instability is presented as a function of Ra _D and θ _max. These critical conditions are compared with previous theoretical results.     

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.     

Analytical and numerical study of buoyancy-driven convection in a vertical enclosure filled with nanofluids

This paper presents an analytical and numerical study of natural convection of nanofluids contained in a rectangular enclosure subject to uniform heat flux along the vertical sides. Governing parameters of the problem under study are the thermal Rayleigh number Ra, the Prandtl number Pr, the aspect ratio of the cavity A and the solid volume fraction of nanoparticles, Φ. Three types of nanoparticles are taken into consideration: Cu, Al₂O₃ and TiO₂. Various models are used for calculating the effective viscosity and thermal conductivity of nanofluids. In the first part of the analytical study, a scale analysis is made for the boundary layer regime situation. In the second part, an analytical solution based on the parallel flow approximation is reported for tall enclosures (A ≫ 1). In the boundary layer regime a good agreement is obtained between the predictions of the scale analysis and those of the analytical solution. Solutions for the flow fields, temperature distributions and Nusselt numbers are obtained explicitly in terms of the governing parameters of the problem. A numerical study of the same phenomenon, obtained by solving the complete system of the governing equations, is also conducted. A good agreement is found between the analytical predictions and the numerical simulations.     

Effects of anisotropy in permeability on the two-phase flow and heat transfer in a porous cavity

This paper reports on the results of a numerical study of convection flow and heat transfer in a rectangular porous cavity filled with a phase change material under steady state conditions. The two vertical walls of the cavity are subject respectively to temperatures below and above the melting point of the PCM while adiabatic conditions are imposed on the horizontal walls. The porous medium is characterized by an anisotropic permeability tensor with the principal axes arbitrarily oriented with respect to the gravity vector. The problem is governed by the aspect ratioA, the Rayleigh numberRa, the anisotropy ratioR and the orientation angle θ of the permeability tensor. Attention is focused on these two latter parameters in order to investigate the effects of the anisotropic permeability on the fluid flow and heat transfer of the liquid/solid phase change process. The method of solution is based on the control volume approach in conjunction with the Landau-transformation to map the irregular flow domain into a rectangular one. The results are obtained for the flow field, temperature distribution, interface position and heat transfer rate forA=2.5,Ra=40, 0≤θ≤π, 0.25≤R≤4. It was found that the equilibrium state of the solid/liquid phase change process may be strongly influenced by the anisotropy ratioR as well as by the orientation angle θ of the permeability tensor. First, for a given set of parametersA,Ra andR, there exists an optimum orientation θ_max for which the flow strength, the liquid volume and the heat transfer rate are maximum. There also exists an orientation θ_min=θ_max+π/2 for which these quantities are minimum. Second, when an anisotropic medium is oriented along the optimum direction θ_max, an increase of the permeability component along that direction will increase the flow and heat transfer rate in a same order while an increase of the other permeability component only has a negligible effect. For the parameter ranges considered in the present study, it was found that the optimum direction is lying between the gravity vector and the dominant flow direction.     

Fully Developed Mixed Convection Flow Between Inclined Parallel Plates Filled with a Porous Medium

A fully developed mixed convection flow between inclined parallel flat plates filled with a porous medium is considered through which there is a constant flow rate and with heat being supplied to the fluid by the same uniform heat flux on each plate. The equations governing this flow are made non-dimensional and are seen to depend on two dimensionless parameters, a mixed convection parameter λ and the Péclet number Pe, as well as the inclination γ of the plates to the horizontal. The velocity and temperature profiles are obtained in terms of λ, Pe and γ when the channel is inclined in an upwards direction as well as for horizontal channels. The limiting cases of small and large λ and small Pe are considered with boundary-layer structures being seen to develop on the plates for large values of λ.     

Role of the inclination of an inverted‐V upper plate on the heat and flow behavior of trapped gases in a modified Rayleigh–Bénard cavity

Thermal buoyant air inside a modified Rayleigh–Bénard (RB) cavity bounded by a lower flat plate and an inverted‐V upper plate has been investigated numerically using the finite‐volume method. The second‐order‐accurate QUICK and SIMPLE schemes were used for the discretization of the convective terms and the pressure–velocity coupling in the set of conservation equations, respectively. The problem under study is controlled by two parameters: (1) the Rayleigh number ranging from 10³ to 10⁶ and (2) the relative height of the vertical sidewalls d. In reference to the latter, it varies from one limiting case corresponding to the standard RB cavity (a rectangle with d = 1) to another limiting case represented by an isosceles triangular cavity where d = 0. The numerical results for the velocity and temperature fields are presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, local and mean heat fluxes. An additional effort was devoted to determine the critical Ra values characterizing the transition from symmetrical to asymmetrical buoyant airflow responsive to incremental changes in Ra. For purposes of engineering design, a general correlation equation for the Nusselt number in terms of the pertinent Ra and d was constructed using nonlinear multiple regression theory. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermophoresis particle deposition in a non-Darcy porous medium under the influence of Soret, Dufour effects

Thermophoresis particle deposition in free convection on a vertical plate embedded in a fluid saturated non-Darcy porous medium is studied using similarity solution technique. The effect of Soret and Dufour parameters on concentration distribution, wall thermophoretic deposition velocity, heat transfer and mass transfer is discussed in detail for different values of dispersion parameters (Ra _γ, Ra _ξ) inertial parameter F and Lewis number Le. The result indicates that the Soret effect is more influential in increasing the concentration distribution in both aiding as well as opposing buoyancies. Also, the non-dimensional heat transfer coefficient and non-dimensional mass transfer coefficient changes according to different values of thermophoretic coefficient k.     

Influence of Variable Permeability on Combined Convection Along a Nonisothermal Wedge in a Saturated Porous Medium

Mixed convection along a vertical nonisothermal wedge embedded in a fluid-saturated porous media incorporating the variation of permeability and thermal conductivity is studied. The surface temperature is assumed to vary as a power of the axial coordinate measured from the leading edge of the plate. A nonsimilar mixed convection parameter and a pseudo-similarity variable are introduced to cast the governing boundary layer equations into a system of dimensionless equations which are solved numerically using finite difference method. The entire mixed convection regime is covered by the single nonsimilarity parameter =[1+(Ra _x /Pe _x )^1/2]^–1 from pure forced convection (=1) to pure free convection (=0). The problem is solved using nonsimilarity solution for the case of variable wall temperature. Velocity and temperature profiles as well as local Nusselt number are presented. The wedge angle geometry parameter is ranged from 0 to 1.     

Radiation-conduction interaction in mixed convection along rotating bodies

This paper investigates the interaction of the steady mixed convection boundary layer flow past a rotating impermeable body placed in a uniform stream moving opposite to the gravitational force and parallel to the axes of the body of revolution with uniform surface temperature and thermal radiation. The fluid considered here is a gray, absorbing-emitting but non-scattering medium, and the Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the analysis. The difficulty of having a unified mathematical treatment of this problem is due to the nonsimilarity nature of the governing equations arising from the buoyant force-field and the transverse curvature of the bodies. The important parameters of this problem are the radiation-conduction parameter R _d and the wall to free stream temperature ratio θ _w , for the case of a heated surface. Numerical simulations of the boundary layer equations are performed using the local nonsimilarity method as well as an implicit finite-difference method. The theory is applied to a rotating sphere for the gases with Prandtl number of 0.7. The results are shown graphically in terms of the local skin-friction coefficients and the local rate of heat transfer. Effects of the pertinent parameters R _d and θ _w are also shown on the components of the velocity distribution as well as on the temperature distribution in the boundary layer. Received on 14 January 1997     

Application of a non-linear local analysis method for the problem of mixed convection instability

We consider the problem of laminar mixed convection flow between parallel, vertical and uniformly heated plates where the governing dimensionless parameters are the Prandtl, Rayleigh and Reynolds numbers. Using the method based on the centre manifold theorem which was derived from the general theory of dynamical systems, we reduce a three-dimensional simplified model of ordinary differential amplitude equations emanating from the original Navier-Stokes system of the problem in the vicinity of a trivial stationary solution. We have found that when the forcing parameter, the Rayleigh number, increases beyond the critical value Ra_s, the stationary solution is a pitchfork bifurcation point of the system.