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.     

Stability analysis of soret-driven double-diffusive convection of Maxwell fluid in a porous medium

Stability analysis of double-diffusive convection for viscoelastic fluid with Soret effect in a porous medium is investigated using a modified-Maxwell-Darcy model. We use the linear stability analysis to investigate how the Soret parameter and the relaxation time of viscoelastic fluid effect the onset of convection and the selection of an unstable wavenumber. It is found that the Soret effect is to destabilize the system for oscillatory convection. The relaxation time also enhances the instability of the system. The effects of Soret coefficient and relaxation time on the heat transfer rate in a porous medium are studied using the nonlinear stability analysis, the variation of the Nusselt number with respect to the Rayleigh number is derived for stationary and oscillatory convection modes. Some previous results can be reduced as the special cases of the present paper.     

MHD mixed convection–radiation interaction along a permeable surface immersed in a porous medium in the presence of Soret and Dufour’s Effects

This work is focused on the numerical modeling of steady, laminar, heat and mass transfer by MHD mixed convection from a semi-infinite, isothermal, vertical and permeable surface immersed in a uniform porous medium in the presence of thermal radiation and Dufour and Soret effects. A mixed convection parameter for the entire range of free-forced-mixed convection is employed and the governing equations are transformed into non-similar equations. These equations are solved numerically by an efficient, implicit, iterative, finite-difference scheme. The obtained results are checked against previously published work on special cases of the problem and are found to be in excellent agreement. A parametric study illustrating the influence of the thermal radiation coefficient, magnetic field, porous medium inertia parameter, concentration to thermal buoyancy ratio, and the Dufour and Soret numbers on the fluid velocity, temperature and concentration as well as the local Nusselt and the Sherwood numbers is conducted. The obtained results are shown graphically and the physical aspects of the problem are discussed.     

Weakly Nonlinear Stability Analysis of Temperature/Gravity-Modulated Stationary Rayleigh–Bénard Convection in a Rotating Porous Medium

The effect of time-periodic temperature/gravity modulation on thermal instability in a fluid-saturated rotating porous layer has been investigated by performing a weakly nonlinear stability analysis. The disturbances are expanded in terms of power series of amplitude of convection. The Ginzburg–Landau equation for the stationary mode of convection is obtained and consequently the individual effect of temperature/gravity modulation on heat transport has been investigated. Further, the effect of various parameters on heat transport has been analyzed and depicted graphically.     

Effects of a magnetic field on the onset of convection in a porous medium

The stability of a conducting fluid saturating a porous medium, in the presence of a uniform magnetic field, is investigated using the Brinkman model. In the first part of the paper constant-flux thermal boundary conditions are considered for which the onset of convection is known to correspond to a vanishingly small wave number. The external magnetic field is assumed to be aligned with gravity. Closed form solutions are obtained, based on a parallel flow assumption, for a porous layer with either rigid-rigid, rigid-free or free-free boundaries. In the second part of the paper, the linear stability of a porous layer, heated isothermally from below, is investigated using the normal mode technique. The external magnetic field is applied either vertically or horizontally. Solutions are obtained for the case of a porous layer with free boundaries. Results for a pure viscous fluid and a Darcy (densely packed) porous medium emerge from the present analysis as limiting cases.     

Buoyant plume above a line source of heat in an anisotropic porous medium

Buoyancy-induced convection arising from a horizontal line heat source embedded in an anisotropic porous medium is investigated analytically. The porous medium is anisotropic is permeability with its principal axes oriented in a direction that is oblique to the gravity vector. Assuming the boundary layer approximation, closed-form exact similarity solutions for both flow and temperature fields are presented and compared with those of isotropic case. Scale analysis is applied to predict the order of magnitudes involved in the boundary layer regime for which the conditions of validity are obtained. Effects of both anisotropic parameters (K* and %) and Rayleigh number Ra_L are observed to be strongly significant. It is demonstrated that a minimum (maximum) intensity of the thermal convective plume above the line source of heat can be obtained if the porous matrix is oriented with its principal axis with higher permeability parallel (perpendicular) to the vertical direction.     

Cross Diffusion Convection in a Newtonian Fluid-Saturated Rotating Porous Medium

Effect of rotation on linear and nonlinear instability of cross-diffusive convection in an anisotropic porous medium saturated with Newtonian fluid has been investigated. Normal mode technique has been used for linear stability analysis, however nonlinear analysis is done using spectral method, involving only two terms. The Darcy model with Coriolis terms, has been employed in the momentum equation. Nonlinear analysis is used to find the thermal and concentration Nusselt numbers. The effects of various parameters, including Soret and Dufour parameters, on stationary and oscillatory convection, have been obtained, and shown graphically.     

Soret and Dufour effects on unsteady MHD flow past an infinite vertical porous plate with thermal radiation

The objective of the present study is to investigate the effect of flow parameters on the free convection and mass transfer of an unsteady magnetohydrodynamic flow of an electrically conducting, viscous, and incompressible fluid past an infinite vertical porous plate under oscillatory suction velocity and thermal radiation. The Dufour （diffusion thermo） and Soret （thermal diffusion） effects are taken into account. The problem is solved numerically using the finite element method for the velocity, the temperature, and the concentration field. The expression for the skin friction, the rate of heat and mass transfer is obtained. The results are presented numerically through graphs and tables for the externally cooled plate （Gr 〉 0） and the externally heated plate （Gr 〈 0） to observe the effects of various parameters encountered in the equations.     

The Effect of Thermal Expansion on Porous Media Convection Part 1: Thermal Expansion Solution

The effect of thermal expansion on porous media convection is investigated by isolating first the solution of thermal expansion in the absence of convection which allows to evaluate the leading order effects that need to be included in the convection problem that is solved later. A relaxation of the Boussinesq approximation is applied and the relevant time scales for the formulated problem are identified from the equations as well as from the derived analytical solutions. Particular attention is paid to the problem of waves propagation in porous media and a significant conceptual difference between the isothermal compression problem in flows in porous media and its non-isothermal counterpart is established. The contrast between these two distinct problems, in terms of the different time scales involved, is evident from the results. While the thermal expansion is identified as a transient phenomenon, its impact on the post-transient solutions is found to be sensitive to the symmetry of the particular temperature initial conditions that are applied.     

Soret effect on propagation of thermoconvective waves in a binary mixture

Effects of thermal diffusion (Soret effect) on the propagation of thermoconvective waves (TCW) in a layer of binary mixture are investigated. It is shown that undamped propagation of TCW is possible in a layer heated from below provided the Soret number is large and positive. A novel result of the analysis is that for a layer heated from below, TCW which are strongly damped in the absence of thermal diffusion may propagate almost undamped in the low frequency limit in the presence of thermal diffusion for some negative value of Soret number. It is further shown that for a layer heated from above such that the solute concentration increases vertically upward, weakly damped propagation of TCW in the low frequency limit is inhibited with increase in Soret number. Received on 14 July 1998     

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.     

Soret and Dufour effects on heat and mass transfer by mixed convection over a vertical surface saturated porous medium with temperature dependent viscosity

The diffusion‐thermo and thermal‐diffusion effects on heat and mass transfer by mixed convection boundary layer flow over a vertical isothermal permeable surface embedded in a porous medium were studied numerically in the presence of chemical reaction with temperature‐dependent viscosity. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into a set of coupled ordinary differential equations, which are solved numerically by using Runge–Kutta method with shooting technique. Numerical results are obtained for the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions, and the local skin friction coefficient, local Nusselt number and local Sherwood number for several values of the parameters, namely, the variable viscosity parameter, suction/injection parameter, Darcy number, chemical reaction parameter, and Dufour and Soret numbers. The obtained results are presented graphically and in tabulated form, and the physical aspects of the problem are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-Darcian Effects on the Onset of Convection in a Porous Layer with Throughflow

The Brinkman extended Darcy model including Lapwood and Forchheimer inertia terms with fluid viscosity being different from effective viscosity is employed to investigate the effect of vertical throughflow on thermal convective instabilities in a porous layer. Three different types of boundary conditions (free–free, rigid–rigid and rigid–free) are considered which are either conducting or insulating to temperature perturbations. The Galerkin method is used to calculate the critical Rayleigh numbers for conducting boundaries, while closed form solutions are achieved for insulating boundaries. The relative importance of inertial resistance on convective instabilities is investigated in detail. In the case of rigid–free boundaries, it is found that throughflow is destabilizing depending on the choice of physical parameters and the model used. Further, it is noted that an increase in viscosity ratio delays the onset of convection. Standard results are also obtained as particular cases from the general model presented here.     

Linear and nonlinear double diffusive convection in a rotating sparsely packed porous layer using a thermal non-equilibrium model

Double diffusive convection in a fluid-saturated rotating porous layer is studied when the fluid and solid phases are not in local thermal equilibrium, using both linear and nonlinear stability analyses. The Brinkman model that includes the Coriolis term is employed as the momentum equation. A two-field model that represents the fluid and solid phase temperature fields separately is used for the energy equation. The onset criterion for stationary, oscillatory, and finite amplitude convection is derived analytically. It is found that small inter-phase heat transfer coefficient has significant effect on the stability of the system. There is a competition between the processes of thermal diffusion, solute diffusion, and rotation that causes the convection to set in through either oscillatory or finite amplitude mode rather than stationary. The effect of solute Rayleigh number, porosity modified conductivity ratio, Lewis number, diffusivity ratio, Vadasz number, and Taylor number on the stability of the system is investigated. The nonlinear theory based on the truncated representation of Fourier series method predicts the occurrence of subcritical instability in the form of finite amplitude motions. The effect of thermal non-equilibrium on heat and mass transfer is also brought out. Some of the convection systems previously reported in the literature is shown to be special cases of the system presented in this study.     

Stability of buoyancy-driven convection in an Oldroyd-B fluid-saturated anisotropic porous layer

The nonlinear stability of thermal convection in a layer of an Oldroyd-B fluid-saturated Darcy porous medium with anisotropic permeability and thermal diffusivity is investigated with the perturbation method. A modified Darcy-Oldroyd model is used to describe the flow in a layer of an anisotropic porous medium. The results of the linear instability theory are delineated. The thresholds for the stationary and oscillatory convection boundaries are established, and the crossover boundary between them is demarcated by identifying a codimension-two point in the viscoelastic parameter plane. The stability of the stationary and oscillatory bifurcating solutions is analyzed by deriving the cubic Landau equations. It shows that these solutions always bifurcate supercritically. The heat transfer is estimated in terms of the Nusselt number for the stationary and oscillatory modes. The result shows that, when the ratio of the thermal to mechanical anisotropy parameters increases, the heat transfer decreases.     

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.     

Linear Stability of the Double-Diffusive Convection in a Horizontal Porous Layer with Open Top: Soret and Viscous Dissipation Effects

The linear stability of the double-diffusive convection in a horizontal porous layer is studied considering the upper boundary to be open. A horizontal temperature gradient is applied along the upper boundary. It is assumed that the viscous dissipation and Soret effect are significant in the medium. The governing parameters are horizontal Rayleigh number (\(Ra_\mathrm{H}\)), solutal Rayleigh number (\(Ra_\mathrm{S}\)), Lewis number (Le), Gebhart number (Ge) and Soret parameter (Sr). The Rayleigh number (Ra) corresponding to the applied heat flux at the bottom boundary is considered as the eigenvalue. The influence of the solutal gradient caused due to the thermal diffusion on the double-diffusive instability is investigated by varying the Soret parameter. A horizontal basic flow is induced by the applied horizontal temperature gradient. The stability of this basic flow is analyzed by calculating the critical Rayleigh number (\(Ra_\mathrm{cr}\)) using the Runge–Kutta scheme accompanied by the Shooting method. The longitudinal rolls are more unstable except for some special cases. The Soret parameter has a significant effect on the stability of the flow when the upper boundary is at constant pressure. The critical Rayleigh number is decreasing in the presence of viscous dissipation except for some positive values of the Soret parameter. How a change in Soret parameter is attributing to the convective rolls is presented.     

Centrifugal Acceleration Induced Convection in a Magnetic Fluid Saturated Anisotropic Rotating Porous Medium

A theoretical investigation is made to study the influence of magnetic field on the onset of convection induced by centrifugal acceleration in a magnetic fluid filled porous medium. The layer is assumed to exhibit anisotropy in mechanical as well as thermal sense. Numerical solutions are obtained using the Galerkin method for the eigenvalue problem arising from the linear stability theory. It is found that the magnetic field has a destabilizing effect and can be suitably adjusted depending on the anisotropy parameters to enhance convection. The effect of anisotropies of magnetic fluid filled porous media is shown to be qualitatively different from that of ordinary fluid filled porous media. This phenomenon may be helpful to increase the efficiency of suitable heat transfer devices.     

Enhancement of electronic cooling by insertion of foam materials

 A numerical investigation of electronic cooling enhancement is carried out in this study in order to determine how the operating temperature can be maintained under the allowable level. A new technique based on use of porous or foam material inserted between the components on a horizontal board is studied. One energy equation model has been adopted to analyse the thermal field. The control volume method based on finite differences with appropriate averaging for diffusion coefficients is used to solve the coupling between solid, fluid and porous regions. The effect of parameters such as Reynolds number, Darcy number and thermal conductivity ratio are considered in order to look for the most appropriate properties of the foam or porous substrate that allow optimal cooling. The results show that for high thermal conductivity of the porous substrate, substantial enhancement is obtained compared to the fluid case even if the permeability is low. In the mixed convection case, the insertion of the foam between the blocks leads to a temperature reduction of 50%. Received on 14 December 1999     

Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer With Thermal Non Equilibrium Model

The effect of local thermal non-equilibrium on linear and non-linear thermal instability in a horizontal porous medium saturated by a nanofluid has been investigated analytically. The Brinkman Model has been used for porous medium, while nanofluid incorporates the effect of Brownian motion along with thermophoresis. A three-temperature model has been used for the effect of local thermal non-equilibrium among the particle, fluid, and solid-matrix phases. The linear stability is based on normal mode technique, while for nonlinear analysis, a minimal representation of the truncated Fourier series analysis involving only two terms has been used. The critical conditions for the onset of convection and the heat and mass transfer across the porous layer have been obtained numerically.