Patterns and heat transfer in Rayleigh-Bénard thermal gravitational convection in helium (<Superscript>3</Superscript>He) near the critical point

Thermal gravitational convection in a bottom-heated layer of near-critical ³He is considered. The range of criteria determining the convection parameters beyond the stability threshold is discussed. The specific features of 2D and 3D supercritical structures, the adiabatic compression effect, and heat transfer are considered.     

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.     

A Nonlinear Stability Analysis of Convection in a Porous Vertical Channel Including Local Thermal Nonequilibrium

The problem is considered of thermal convection in a saturated porous medium contained in an infinite vertical channel with differentially heated sidewalls. The theory employed allows for different solid and fluid temperatures in the matrix. Nonlinear energy stability theory is used to derive a Rayleigh number threshold below which convection will not occur no matter how large the initial data. A generalized nonlinear analysis is also given which shows convection cannot occur for any Rayleigh number provided the initial data is suitably restricted.     

Conditions of Rayleigh-Bénard convection onset and heat transfer in a near-critical medium

Thermal gravity convection in a horizontal layer of compressible perfect gas heated from below and a van der Waals gas near the critical state is investigated. The characteristics of the isentropic equilibrium of a compressible medium with a van der Waals equation of state are considered. The known conditions of convection onset in the perfect and van der Waals gases are checked on the basis of a solution of the complete and linearized equations. The restrictions imposed in deriving the known formulas for the adiabatic temperature gradients used in the conditions of absence and onset of convection are discussed. The characteristics of the convective heat transfer are examined, including the causes of the heat-transfer deterioration in the near-critical medium above the hydrostatic equilibrium threshold.     

The Effect of Rotation on the Onset of Double Diffusive Convection in a Sparsely Packed Anisotropic Porous Layer

The effect of rotation on the onset of double diffusive convection in a sparsely packed anisotropic porous layer, which is heated and salted from below, is investigated analytically using the linear and nonlinear theories. The Brinkman model that includes the Coriolis term is employed for the momentum equation. The critical Rayleigh number, wavenumber for stationary and oscillatory modes and a dispersion relation are obtained analytically using linear theory. The effect of anisotropy parameters, Taylor number, Darcy number, solute Rayleigh number, Lewis number, Darcy–Prandtl number, and normalized porosity on the stationary, oscillatory and finite amplitude convection is shown graphically. It is found that contrary to its usual influence on the onset of convection in the absence of rotation, the mechanical anisotropy parameter show contrasting effect on the onset criterion at moderate and high rotation rates. The nonlinear theory based on the truncated representation of Fourier series method is used to find the heat and mass transfers. The effect of various parameters on heat and mass transfer is shown graphically. Some of the convection systems previously reported in the literature is shown to be special cases of the system presented in this study.     

Effect of rotation on the vibroconvective stability of a fluid layer with internal heat release

The equilibrium stability of a horizontal fluid layer with homogeneous internal heat release is investigated theoretically for the case in which the layer simultaneously undergoes high-frequency circular vibration in a horizontal plane and rotates about a vertical axis. The rotation frequency is assumed to be small as compared with the vibration frequency. It is found that the rotation has a stabilizing effect on the vibrational-gravitational convection. At the high-frequency limit the dependence of the critical values of the controlling parameters (gravitational and vibrational Rayleigh numbers) and the wave number on the rotation frequency is obtained.__________Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, 2005, pp. 53–61. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Ivanova, Kozlov, and Kolesnikov.     

Analytical investigation of steady convection of a near-critical Van der Waals gas in a porous thin annular cylinder embedded in a heat-conducting medium

Natural convection of a near-critical Van der Waals gas in a horizontal porous thin annular cylinder embedded in a heat-conducting space with a temperature gradient given at infinity is considered. The two-dimensional problem in a plane orthogonal to the cylinder axis is investigated using analytical methods, accurate to quantities of the order of the annulus thickness. A criterion of the onset of an annulus-section-average flow is obtained. The critical Rayleigh-Darcy number is determined for the general case in which the physical properties of the gas can considerably vary throughout the medium. Several limiting cases are considered and the ranges of their applicability are discussed. It is shown that, as the thermodynamic critical point is approached, the asymptotics of the critical Rayleigh-Darcy number depend on the relation between non-Boussinesq parameters, such as hydrostatic compressibility criteria, the temperature difference, and the nearness to the critical point. In the case of steady convection, an analytical solution is also derived in the case in which the above-mentioned stability threshold is exceeded and the physical properties of the gas vary throughout space only slightly. A comparison with the case of a perfect gas is made.     

Experimental Study on Oscillatory Natural Convection in a Hele-Shaw Cell due to Unstably Heated Side

The oscillatory motion of natural convection in a porous medium has been investigated experimentally using a Hele-Shaw cell technique. The cell has been heated on the lower half and cooled on the upper half along the same vertical sidewall. Flows have been visualized using the pH indicator method. Photographs of natural convection patterns as well as average Nusselt number data have been presented for different Rayleigh numbers. Oscillatory motion of natural convection has been observed for large enough Rayleigh numbers and the critical Rayleigh number has been estimated to be between 120 and 450. Scaling analysis has been conducted to understand the heat transfer and the oscillating mechanism. According to the scaling analysis, it has been found that the average Nusselt number is proportional to the square root of the Rayleigh number, and that the oscillation frequency is proportional to the Rayleigh number. Obtained experimental data support the scaling analysis.     

Experimental Investigation of Thermo-Oscillatory Convection

The thermal convection in an air column oscillating with a high frequency in a plane channel whose boundaries are isothermal and have different temperatures is investigated. The experiments were performed for various channel orientations and for a wide range of nondimensional governing parameters, i.e. the gravitational Rayleigh number and the thermo-oscillatory parameter. As follows from the experimental results, for relatively large oscillation amplitudes the latter parameter characterizes the average action of high-frequency oscillations on a non-isothermal incompressible fluid. The regions in which either the thermo-oscillatory or gravitational mechanism of thermal convection predominates are determined. The threshold of excitation of thermo-oscillatory convection under weightlessness conditions is found.     

Numerical investigation of natural convective motions in a rotating cube

On the basis of a numerical integration of the Navier-Stokes equations in the Boussinesq approximation, the natural thermal convection in a rotating cube heated from below is investigated for three values of the Rayleigh number. The effect of the rotation velocity on the establishment of various forms of convection flows is studied. The existence of several types of convection flows is noted. Each of the motions is realized on a specific range of the rotation velocity of the cube. The domains of existence of the different types are determined. The results obtained are compared with experimental data.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 53–60, July–August, 1995.     

Linear and Nonlinear Double-Diffusive Convection in a Fluid-Saturated Porous Layer with Cross-Diffusion Effects

The double-diffusive convection in a horizontal fluid-saturated porous layer, which is heated and salted from below in the presence of Soret and Dufour effects, is studied analytically using both linear and nonlinear stability analyses. The linear analysis is based on the usual normal mode technique, while the nonlinear analysis is based on truncated representation of Fourier series. The generalized Darcy model that includes the time derivative is employed for the momentum equation. The critical Rayleigh number, wavenumber for stationary and oscillatory modes, and frequency of oscillations are obtained analytically using linear theory. The effects of solute Rayleigh number, Lewis number, normalized porosity parameter, Vadasz number, Soret and Dufour parameters on the stationary, oscillatory convection, and heat and mass transfers are shown graphically. The Vadasz number has dual effect on the threshold of the oscillatory convection. Some known results are recovered as special cases of the present problem.     

Study of Heat Transport in a Porous Medium Under G-jitter and Internal Heating Effects

In this article we study the combined effect of internal heating and time-periodic gravity modulation on thermal instability in a closely packed anisotropic porous medium, heated from below and cooled from above. The time-periodic gravity modulation, considered in this problem can be realized by vertically oscillating the porous medium. A weak non-linear stability analysis has been performed by using power series expansion in terms of the amplitude of gravity modulation, which is assumed to be small. The Nusselt number has been obtained in terms of the amplitude of convection which is governed by the non-autonomous Ginzburg?CLandau equation derived for the stationary mode of convection. The effects of various parameters such as; internal Rayleigh number, amplitude and frequency of gravity modulation, thermo-mechanical anisotropies, and Vadász number on heat transport has been analyzed. It is found that the response of the convective system to the internal Rayleigh number is destabilizing. Further it is found that the heat transport can also be controlled by suitably adjusting the external parameters of the system.     

Analysis of periodic and aperiodic convective stability of double diffusive nanofluid convection in rotating porous layer

The onset of periodic and aperiodic convection in a binary nanofluid saturated rotating porous layer is studied considering constant flux boundary conditions. The porous medium obeys Darcy’s law, while the nanofluid envisages the effects of the Brownian motion and thermophoresis. The Rayleigh numbers for stationary and oscillatory convection are obtained in terms of various non-dimensional parameters. The effect of the involved physical parameters on the aperiodic convection is studied graphically. The results are validated in comparison with the published literature in limiting cases of the present study.     

Effect of Thermal Modulation on the Onset of Convection in a Viscoelastic Fluid Saturated Porous Layer

The effect of thermal modulation on the onset of convection in a horizontal, anisotropic porous layer saturated by a viscoelastic fluid is investigated by a linear stability analysis. Darcy’s law with viscoelastic correction is used to describe the fluid motion. The perturbation method is used to find the critical Rayleigh number and the corresponding wavenumber for small amplitude thermal modulation. The stability of the system characterized by a correction Rayleigh number is calculated as a function of the thermal and mechanical anisotropy parameters, the viscoelastic parameters and the frequency of modulation. It is found that the onset of convection can be delayed or advanced by the factors represented by these parameters. The results of the problem have possible implications in mantle convection.     

Rotating Brinkman–Lapwood Convection with Modulation

The purpose of this article is to analyze, theoretically, the effect of modulation on rotating Brinkman–Lapwood convection, i.e., buoyancy-driven convection in a sparse porous medium subjected to rotation. Darcy–Brinkman momentum equation with Coriolis term has been used to describe the flow. The system is considered rotating about an axis with non-uniform rotation speed. In particular, we assume that the rotation speed is varying sinusoidally with time. A linear stability analysis has been performed to find the critical Rayleigh number in modulated case. The effect of modulated rotation speed is found to have a stabilizing effect on the onset of convection for different values of modulation frequency and the other physical parameters involved.     

Stationary Fingering Instability in a Non-equilibrium Porous Medium with Coupled Molecular Diffusion

Finger type double diffusive convective instability in a fluid-saturated porous medium is studied in the presence of coupled heat-solute diffusion. A local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) condition is invoked to model the Darcian porous medium which takes into account the energy transfer between the fluid and solid phases. Linear stability theory is implemented to compute the critical thermal Rayleigh number and the corresponding wavenumber exactly for the onset of stationary convection. The effects of Soret and Dufour cross-diffusion parameters, inter-phase heat transfer coefficient and porosity modified conductivity ratio on the instability of the system are investigated. The analysis shows that positive Soret mass flux triggers instability and positive Dufour energy flux enhances stability whereas their combined influence depends on the product of solutal Rayleigh number and Lewis number. It also reveals that cell width at the convection threshold gets affected only in the presence of both the cross-diffusion fluxes. Besides, asymptotic solutions for both small and large values of the inter-phase heat transfer coefficient and porosity modified conductivity ratio are found. An excellent agreement is found between the exact and asymptotic solutions.     

Double diffusive convection in a porous medium with modulated temperature on the boundaries

The effect of temperature modulation on the onset of double diffusive convection in a sparsely packed porous medium is studied by making linear stability analysis, and using Brinkman-Forchheimer extended Darcy model. The temperature field between the walls of the porous layer consists of a steady part and a time dependent periodic part that oscillates with time. Only infinitesimal disturbances are considered. The effect of permeability and thermal modulation on the onset of double diffusive convection has been studied using Galerkin method and Floquet theory. The critical Rayleigh number is calculated as a function of frequency and amplitude of modulation, Vadasz number, Darcy number, diffusivity ratio, and solute Rayleigh number. Stabilizing and destabilizing effects of modulation on the onset of double diffusive convection have been obtained. The effects of other parameters are also discussed on the stability of the system. Some results as the particular cases of the present study have also been obtained. Also the results corresponding to the Brinkman model and Darcy model have been compared.     

Natural convection with surface radiation from a planar heat generating element mounted freely in a vertical channel

Experiments and numerical simulations have been conducted to study the conjugate heat transfer by natural convection and surface radiation from a planar heat generating element placed centrally between two adiabatic vertical plates. The relevant problem dependent parameters considered in this study are modified Rayleigh number, channel aspect ratio, stream-wise location of the heat generating element, and surface emissivities of the heat generating element and the adiabatic side plates. Experiments are conducted for different values of modified Rayleigh number ranging from 3.2 × 10⁵ to 1.6 × 10⁷ and surface emissivities 0.05, 0.55, 0.75 and 0.85. The interdependence between the heat transfer mechanism and the flow field under the influence of surface radiation on natural convection is explored and discussed. Experimental correlations for total and convective Nusselt number, and dimensionless temperature in terms of relevant parameters have been developed. The mathematical model governing the problem has been numerically solved using a commercial computational fluid dynamics package FLUENT 6.3 and the numerical predictions substantiate the experimental observations.     

The effect of corona discharge on free convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder

Free convection heat transfer from an isothermal horizontal cylinder in the presence of DC positive corona discharge with a blade edge emitter electrode has been studied experimentally and numerically. A Mach–Zehnder interferometer was used to determine the local Nusselt numbers. The effect of corona discharge on heat transfer from the cylinder was investigated at Rayleigh numbers in the range between 1500 and 5000. To find the details of the flow patterns and to further verify the experimental results, numerical simulations were also performed. It was found that the numerical results are in good agreement with experimental data. By increasing the applied voltage up to 15.5 kV, the corona discharge generates a recirculation zone around the blade and below the lower stagnation point of the cylinder. The effect of the recirculation zone becomes stronger near the breakdown voltage (17 kV) and it is responsible for a local decrease in the cooling of the cylinder around the lower stagnation point. The results indicate that corona discharge has a significant effect on the average Nusselt number at lower Rayleigh numbers whereas it has smaller effect at higher Rayleigh numbers.     

Turbulent thermal convection in wide horizontal fluid layers

Turbulence in thermal convection is investigated for flows in which the production of turbulence energy is due solely to buoyancy, and the statistics of the flow are homogeneous in horizontal planes. New experimental results for high Rayleigh number unsteady turbulent convection in a horizontal layer heated from below and insulated from above are presented and compared to turbulent Rayleigh convection, convection in the planetary boundary layer, and laboratory penetrative convection. Mean temperature fields are correlated in terms of wall layer scales and convection scales. Joint statistics of turbulent temperature and horizontal velocity and vertical velocity through fourth order are presented for the core region of the convection layer.This paper was presented at the Ninth Symposium on Turbulence, University of Missouri-Rolla, October 1–3, 1984