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.     

Mixed Convection Boundary Layer Flow Near the Stagnation Point on a Vertical Surface Embedded in a Porous Medium with Anisotropy Effect

The steady boundary-layer flow near the stagnation point on a vertical flat plate embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium characterized by an anisotropic permeability is investigated. Using appropriate similarity transformation, the governing system of partial differential equations is transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations. This system is then solved numerically. The features of the flow and the heat transfer characteristics for different values of the governing parameters, namely, the modified mixed convection parameter Λ, and the anisotropy parameter A are analyzed and discussed. It is found that dual solutions exist for both assisting and opposing flows. Moreover, the range of Λ for which the solution exists increases with A.     

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.     

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

The effect of rotation and anisotropy on the onset of double diffusive convection in a horizontal porous layer is investigated using a linear theory and a weak nonlinear theory. The linear theory is based on the usual normal mode technique and the nonlinear theory on the truncated Fourier series analysis. Darcy model extended to include time derivative and Coriolis terms with anisotropic permeability is used to describe the flow through porous media. The effect of rotation, mechanical and thermal anisotropy parameters, and the Prandtl number on the stationary and overstable convection is discussed. It is found that the effect of mechanical anisotropy is to allow the onset of oscillatory convection instead of stationary. It is also found that the existence of overstable motions in case of rotating porous medium is not restricted to a particular range of Prandtl number as compared to the pure viscous fluid case. The finite amplitude analysis is performed to find the thermal and solute Nusselt numbers. The effect of various parameters on heat and mass transfer is also investigated.     

The effect of anisotropic permeability on free convective boundary layer flow in porous media

The effect of an anisotropic permeability on thermal boundary layer flow in porous media is studied. The convective flow is induced by a vertical, uniformly heated surface embedded in a fluid-saturated medium. A leading-order boundary layer theory is presented. It is shown that the thickness of the resulting boundary layer flow is different from that obtained in an isotropic porous medium. In general, an anisotropic permeability induces a fluid drift in the spanwise direction, the strength of which depends on the precise nature of the anisotropy. Conditions are found which determine whether or not the boundary layer flow is three-dimensional.     

Thermal Dispersion–Radiation Effects on Non-Darcy Natural Convection in a Fluid Saturated Porous Medium

The effects of thermal dispersion and thermal radiation on the non-Darcy natural convection over a vertical flat plate in a fluid saturated porous medium are studied. Forchheimer extension is considered in the flow equations. The coefficient of thermal diffusivity has been assumed to be the sum of molecular diffusivity and the dispersion thermal diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. Similarity solution for the transformed governing equations is obtained. Numerical results for the details of the velocity and temperature profiles which are shown on graphs have been presented. The combined effect of thermal dispersion and thermal radiation, for the two cases Darcy and non-Darcy porous medium, on the heat transfer rate which are entered in tables is discussed.     

Effect of thermal dispersion on free convection in a fluid saturated porous medium

The present article considers a numerical study of thermal dispersion effect on the non-Darcy natural convection over a vertical flat plate in a fluid saturated porous medium. Forchheimer extension is considered in the flow equations. The coefficient of thermal diffusivity has been assumed to be the sum of molecular diffusivity and the dispersion thermal diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. The non-dimensional governing equations are solved by the finite element method (FEM) with a Newton–Raphson solver. Numerical results for the details of the stream function, velocity and temperature contours and profiles as well as heat transfer rates in terms of Nusselt number are obtained. The study shows that the increase in thermal dispersion coefficient of the porous medium results in more heat energy to disperse away in the normal direction to the wall. This induces more fluid to flow along the wall, enhancing the heat transfer coefficient particularly near the wall.     

The Onset of Convection in an Anisotropic Porous Layer Using a Thermal Non-Equilibrium Model

The stability of a horizontal fluid saturated anisotropic porous layer heated from below and cooled from above is examined analytically when the solid and fluid phases are not in local thermal equilibrium. Darcy model with anisotropic permeability is employed to describe the flow and a two-field model is used for energy equation each representing the solid and fluid phases separately. The linear stability theory is implemented to compute the critical Rayleigh number and the corresponding wavenumber for the onset of convective motion. The effect of thermal non-equilibrium and anisotropy in both mechanical and thermal properties of the porous medium on the onset of convection is discussed. Besides, asymptotic analysis for both very small and large values of the interphase heat transfer coefficient is also presented. An excellent agreement is found between the exact and asymptotic solutions. Some known results, which correspond to thermal equilibrium and isotropic porous medium, are recovered in limiting cases.     

Thermal instability in an anisotropic rotating porous medium

 Influenced by the article of Vadasz [1], an analysis has been carried out to investigate convective instability due to centrifugal acceleration in an anisotropic porous medium. Results reveal that anisotropy in thermal diffusivity destabilizes the system whereas that in permeability has the opposite effect. Received on 26 February 1999     

Analytical and numerical investigation of double diffusion in thermally anisotropy multilayer porous medium

Double-diffusive natural convection within a multilayer anisotropic porous medium is studied numerically and analytically. The domain composed of two horizontal porous layers is subjected to a uniform horizontal heat flux and a vertical mass flux, where only the lower one is thermally anisotropic. Darcy model with classical Boussinesq approximation is used in formulating the mathematical model. The effect of thermal anisotropy and the relative width of the two layers on the flow and transfers is illustrated with characterising the transitions from the diffusive to the convective solution. Results were well compared with respect to a developed analytical approach, based on a parallel flow approximation for thermally anisotropic multilayer media.     

Solutions similaires pour un problème de couches limites en milieux poreux

We consider heat transfer from a surface embedded in an unbounded porous medium, saturated with a fluid at rest. A thermal boundary-layer approximation, based on the assumption that convection takes place in a thin layer around the heating surface, is done. The use of boundary layer technics show that we can find similarity solutions by solving a one-dimensional boundary value problem, involving a third-order nonlinear differential equation depending on a parameter. We prove existence and uniqueness results for some values of the parameter, non-existence for the other ones, and when it is possible, we construct explicit solutions.     

Natural convection from a buried elliptic heat source

Numerical solutions are presented for the natural convection heat transfer from an elliptic heat source buried beneath a semi-infinite, saturated, porous medium. The surface of the medium is assumed to be permeable. The governing equations for Darcy flow are solved using finite differences. The complicated geometry is handled through the use of a body-fitted curvilinear coordinate system. Results are presented for Ra values ranging from 10 to 200 and ellipse aspect ratio values from 1.0 (circular cylinder) to 0.167. Two body orientations have been considered. The slender orientation yields much higher hear transfer rates (especially at low ellipse aspect ratio values) than the blunt orientation. The numerical simulations indicate that the boundary-layer approximations cannot be employed for low ellipse aspect ratios. In addition, the heat loss does not depend on the burial depth.     

Darcy–Brinkman Flow Over a Screen Embedded in an Anisotropic Porous Medium

A screen composed of in-plane thin strips is embedded in a porous medium. The screen is either normal or parallel to the applied pressure gradient which forces a flow through the anisotropic porous medium. The principal axes of anisotropy are assumed to be aligned with that of the screen. The governing equation is fourth order and cannot be factored as in the isotropic case. The solutions are found by eigenfunction superposition (with complex eigenvalues) and point match. Anisotropy has first-order effects on the flow and the drag on the screen. Extrapolation yields fundamental results for the drag of a single slat in an anisotropic porous medium.

     

Effect of Inertial Terms on Fluid–Porous Medium Flow Coupling

The study considers an effect of the nonlinear inertial terms in the Brinkman filtration equation on the characteristics of coupled flows in a pure fluid and porous medium in the frameworks of two independent problems. The first problem is the forced boundary-layer flow overlying the Darcy–Brinkman porous medium. The Prandtl theory is used, and the self-similar equations are built to describe it. It is shown that the inertial terms have a valuable effect on the boundary-layer structure because of the large velocity gradient in the transition zone. The boundary-layer thickness in a porous medium rapidly grows at large Reynolds numbers. The velocity magnitude and gradient at the interface also change. The second independent problem is an analysis of the inertial terms effect on the flow stability. The neutral curves of the full and linearized flow models are built using the shooting method. They have different short-wave asymptotic, but there are no significant changes in the critical Reynolds numbers and corresponding wave numbers.     

Local nonsimilarity solution for the impact of the buoyancy force on heat and mass transfer in a flow over a porous wedge with a heat source in the presence of suction/injection

Combined heat and mass transfer in free, forced and mixed convection flows along a porous wedge with internal heat generation in the presence of uniform suction or injection is investigated. The boundary-layer analysis is formulated in terms of the combined thermal and solute buoyancy effect. The flow field characteristics are analyzed using the Runge-Kutta-Gill method, the shooting method, and the local nonsimilarity method. Due to the effect of the buoyancy force, power law of temperature and concentration, and suction/injection on the wall of the wedge, the flow field is locally nonsimilar. Numerical calculations up to third-order level of truncation are carried out for different values of dimensionless parameters as a special case. The effects of the buoyancy force, suction, heat generation, and variable wall temperature and concentration on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are studied. The results obtained are found to be in good agreement with previously published works.     

Inertial and Darcy’s Terms Ratio in Boundary Layer at Fluid–Porous Medium Interface

The study considers the forced boundary-layer flow overlying the Darcy–Brinkman porous medium and gives a quantitative analysis of the nonlinear inertial terms in the Brinkman filtration equation. The inertial terms are shown to be larger than the Darcy’s drag near the porous medium interface. The applicability range of boundary-layer approach is determined. It is suitable in high-permeable media with moderate velocities of an external flow. If it is slow enough, the inertial terms can be omitted in spite of interface effect. On the other hand, fast external flow produces the filtration with large pore-scale Reynolds number; therefore, the Forchheimer’s drag should be taken into account. It is shown the Brinkman term as well as inertial terms have a significant role in boundary-layer formation within the porous medium.     

On the thermal anisotropy affecting transfers in a multilayer porous mediumSur l'effet de l'anisotropie thermique sur les transferts dans un milieu poreux multicouches

An analytical model for studying double-diffusive natural convection within a multilayer anisotropic porous medium is developed and validated with respect to a direct numerical silmulation. The studied domain is composed of two horizontal porous layers where the lower one is thermally anisotropic and is submitted to a uniform horizontal heat flux and a vertical mass flux. The assumption of parallel flow is validated and the effect of anisotropy on dynamic transitions is investigated. To cite this article: R. Bennacer et al., C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).     

The Opposing Effect of Viscous Dissipation Allows for a Parallel Free Convection Boundary-Layer Flow Along a Cold Vertical Flat Plate

External free convection boundary-layer flows are usually treated by neglecting the effect of viscous dissipation. This assumption always results in a non-parallel flow, besides a strong parallel component also a weak transversal component of the (steady) velocity field occurs. The present paper shows, however, that the weak opposing effect of the buoyancy forces due to heat release by viscous dissipation, can give rise along a cold vertical plate adjacent to a fluid saturated porous medium to a strictly parallel steady free convection flow. This boundary-layer flow is described by an algebraically decaying exact analytical solution of the basic balance equations.     

Forced Convection Heat Transfer of Nanofluids in a Porous Channel

This article is concerned with the effects of flow and migration of nanoparticles on heat transfer in a straight channel occupied with a porous medium. Investigation of force convective heat transfer of nanofluids in a porous channel has not been considered completely in the literature and this challenge is generally considered to be an open research topic that may require more study. The fully developed flow and steady Darcy?CBrinkman?CForchheimer equation is employed in porous channel. The thermal equilibrium model is assumed between nanofluid and solid phases. It is assumed that the nanoparticles are distributed non-uniformly inside the channel. As a result the volume fraction distribution equation is also coupled with governing equations. The effects of parameters such as Lewis number, Schmidt number, Brownian diffusion, and thermophoresis on the heat transfer are completely studied. The results show that the local Nusselt number is decreased when the Lewis number is increased. It is observed that as the Schmidt number is increased, the wall temperature gradient is decreased and as a consequence the local Nusselt number is decreased. The effects of Lewis number, Schmidt number, and modified diffusivity ratio on the volume fraction distribution are also studied and discussed.     

Thermal dispersion and viscous dissipation effects on non-darcy mixed convection in a fluid saturated porous medium

Mixed convection flow and heat transfer about an isothermal vertical wall embedded in a fluid saturated porous medium with uniform free stream velocity is considered and the effects of thermal dispersion and viscous dissipation in both aiding and opposing flows are analysed. Similarity solution is not possible due to the inclusion of the viscous dissipation term, series solution is obtained, first and second order effects of dissipation revealed that viscous dissipation lowers the heat transfer rate. Observations also revealed that the thermal dispersion effect enhances the heat transfer rate and the effect of viscous dissipation is observed to increase with increasing values of the dispersion parameter. Received on 21 March 1997