Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow on a Vertical Surface in a Porous Medium with a Constant Convective Boundary Condition

The mixed convection boundary-layer flow on a vertical surface heated convectively is considered when a constant surface heat transfer parameter is assumed. The problem is seen to be chararterized by a mixed convection parameter $\gamma $ γ . The flow and heat transfer near the leading edge correspond to forced convection solution and numerical solutions are obtained to determine how the solution then develops. The solution at large distances is obtained and this identifies a critical value $\gamma _c$ γ c of the parameter $\gamma $ γ . For $\gamma > \gamma _c$ γ > γ c a solution at large distances is possible and this is approached in the numerical integrations. For $\gamma <\gamma _c$ γ < γ c the numerical solution breaks down at a finite distance along the surface with a singularity, the nature of which is discussed.     

Natural Convection Boundary-Layer Flow in a Porous Medium with Temperature-Dependent Boundary Conditions

The natural convection boundary-layer flow on a surface embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium is discussed in the case when the wall heat flux is related to the wall temperature through a power-law variation. The flow within the porous medium is assumed to be described by Darcy’s law and the Boussinesq approximation is assumed for the density variations. Two cases are discussed, (i) stagnation-point flow and (ii) flow along a vertical surface. The possible steady states are considered first with the governing partial equations reduced to ordinary differential equations by similarity transformations and these latter equations further transformed to previously studied free-convection problems. This identifies values of the exponent N in the power-law wall temperature variation, N = 3/2 for stagnation-point flows and 3/2 ≤ N ≤ 3 for the vertical surface, where similarity solutions do not exist. Time development for stagnation-point flows is seen to depend on N, for N <  3/2 the steady state is approached at large times, for N ≥ 3/2 a singularity develops at finite time leading to thermal runaway. Numerical solutions for the vertical surface, where the temperature-dependent boundary condition becomes more significant as the solution develops, show that, for N < 3/2, the corresponding similarity solution is approached, whereas for N >  3/2 the solution breaks down at a finite distance along the surface.     

Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow Near the Stagnation Point on a Vertical Surface in a Porous Medium: Brinkman Model with Slip

The steady boundary-layer flow near the stagnation point on an impermeable vertical surface with slip that is embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium is investigated. Using appropriate similarity variables, 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 Darcy–Brinkman, Γ, mixed convection, λ, and slip, γ, parameters, are analysed and discussed in detail for the cases of assisting and opposing flows. It is found that dual solutions exist for assisting flows, as well as those usually reported in the literature for opposing flows. A stability analysis of the steady flow solutions encountered for different values of the mixed convection parameter λ is performed using a linear temporal stability analysis. This analysis reveals that for γ  =  0 (slip absent) and Γ  =  1 the lower solution branch is unstable while the upper solution branch is stable.     

Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow Over a Vertical Surface Embedded in a Porous Material Subject to a Convective Boundary Condition

The mixed convection boundary-layer flow on one face of a semi-infinite vertical surface embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium is considered when the other face is taken to be in contact with a hot or cooled fluid maintaining that surface at a constant temperature $T_\mathrm{{f}}$ . The governing system of partial differential equations is transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations through an appropriate similarity transformation. These equations are solved numerically in terms of a dimensionless mixed convection parameter $\epsilon $ and a surface heat transfer parameter $\gamma $ . The results indicate that dual solutions exist for opposing flow, $\epsilon <0$ , with the dependence of the critical values $\epsilon _\mathrm{{c}}$ on $\gamma $ being determined, whereas for the assisting flow $\epsilon >0$ , the solution is unique. Limiting asymptotic forms for both $\gamma $ small and large and $\epsilon $ large are also discussed.     

Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow Along a Vertical Cylinder Embedded in a Porous Medium Filled by a Nanofluid

The steady mixed convection boundary-layer flow on a vertical circular cylinder embedded in a porous medium filled by a nanofluid is studied for both cases of a heated and a cooled cylinder. The governing system of partial differential equations is reduced to ordinary differential equations by assuming that the surface temperature of the cylinder and the velocity of the external (inviscid) flow vary linearly with the axial distance x measured from the leading edge. Solutions of the resulting ordinary differential equations for the flow and heat transfer characteristics are evaluated numerically for various values of the governing parameters, namely the nanoparticle volume fraction ${\phi}$ , the mixed convection or buoyancy parameter ?? and the curvature parameter ??. Results are presented for the specific case of copper nanoparticles. A critical value ?? _c of ?? with ?? _c <?0 is found, with the values of | ?? _c| increasing as the curvature parameter ?? or nanoparticle volume fraction ${\phi}$ is increased. Dual solutions are seen for all values of ?? >??? _c for both aiding, ?? >?0 and opposing, ?? <?0, flows. Asymptotic solutions are also determined for both the free convection limit ${(\lambda \gg 1)}$ and for large curvature parameter ${(\gamma \gg 1)}$ .     

Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow in a Porous Medium Filled with Water Close to its Maximum Density

The steady mixed convection boundary-layer flow over a vertical impermeable surface in a porous medium saturated with water close to its maximum density is considered for uniform wall temperature and outer flow. The problem can be reduced to similarity form and the resulting equations are examined in terms of a mixed convection parameter λ and a parameter δ which measures the difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature at the maximum density. Both assisting (λ > 0) and opposing flows (λ < 0) are considered. A value δ₀ is found for which there are dual solutions for a range λ_c < λ < 0 of λ (the value of λ_c dependent on δ) and single solutions for all λ ≥ 0. Another value of δ₁ of δ, with δ₁ > δ₀, is found for which there are dual solutions for a range 0 < λ < λ_c of positive values of λ, with solutions for all λ≤ 0. There is also a range δ₀ <  δ < δ₁ where there are solutions only for a finite range of λ, with critical points at both positive and negative values of λ, thus putting a finite limit on the range of existence of solutions.     

A Further Note on the Unsteady Mixed Convection Boundary Layer in a Porous Medium with Temperature Slip: An Exact Solution

The aim of this Letter is to show that a further exact solution of the problem on unsteady mixed convection boundary layer in a porous medium with temperature slip can be obtained in addition of that reported very recently by Fang et al. (2012).     

Mixed Convection Boundary Layer Flow Past a Horizontal Circular Cylinder Embedded in a Bidisperse Porous Medium

Adopting a two-temperature and two-velocity model, appropriate to a bidisperse porous medium (BDPM) proposed by Nield and Kuznetsov (2008), the classical steady, mixed convection boundary layer flow about a horizontal, isothermal circular cylinder embedded in a porous medium has been theoretically studied in this article. It is shown that the boundary layer analysis leads to expressions for the flow and heat transfer characteristics in terms of an inter-phase momentum parameter, a thermal diffusivity ratio, a thermal conductivity ratio, a permeability ratio, a modified thermal capacity ratio, and a buoyancy or mixed convection parameter. The transformed partial differential equations governing the flow and heat transfer in the f-phase (the macro-pores) and the p-phase (the remainder of the structure) are solved numerically using a very efficient implicit finite-difference technique known as Keller-box method. A good agreement is observed between the present results and those known from the open literature in the special case of a traditional Darcy formulation (monodisperse system).     

Note on the Unsteady Mixed Boundary Layer in a Porous Medium with Temperature Slip: Exact Solutions

In this note, the mixed unsteady stagnation-point boundary layer over a vertical plate with mass transfer in a fluid-saturated porous medium is revisited. Closed-form analytical solutions are found and presented for a special value of the flow unsteadiness parameter. Multiple solution branches are obtained for certain controlling parameters. These solutions might offer more insights into the mixed convection flow characteristics compared with the numerical solutions.     

Mixed Convection Boundary Layer Flow on a Vertical Surface in a Saturated Porous Medium: New Perturbation Solutions

Transport in Porous Media -     

Mixed Convection Boundary Layer Flow from a Horizontal Circular Cylinder Embedded in a Porous Medium Filled with a Nanofluid

Steady mixed convection boundary layer flow from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder embedded in a porous medium filled with a nanofluid has been studied for both cases of a heated and cooled cylinder. The resulting system of nonlinear partial differential equations is solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. The solutions for the flow and heat transfer characteristics are evaluated numerically for various values of the governing parameters, namely the nanoparticle volume fraction φ and the mixed convection parameter λ. Three different types of nanoparticles are considered, namely Cu, Al₂O₃ and TiO₂. It is found that for each particular nanoparticle, as the nanoparticle volume fraction φ increases, the magnitude of the skin friction coefficient decreases, and this leads to an increase in the value of the mixed convection parameter λ which first produces no separation. On the other hand, it is also found that of all the three types of nanoparticles considered, for any fixed values of φ and λ, the nanoparticle Cu gives the largest values of the skin friction coefficient followed by TiO₂ and Al₂O₃. Finally, it is worth mentioning that heating the cylinder (λ > 0) delays separation of the boundary layer and if the cylinder is hot enough (large values of λ > 0), then it is suppressed completely. On the other hand, cooling the cylinder (λ < 0) brings the boundary layer separation point nearer to the lower stagnation point and for a sufficiently cold cylinder (large values of λ < 0) there will not be a boundary layer on the cylinder.     

The Mixed Convection Boundary Layer on a Vertical Melting Front in a Non-Darcian Porous Medium

The effect of surface melting on the dual solutions that can arise in the problem of the mixed convection boundary-layer flow past a vertical surface embedded in a non-Darcian porous medium is considered. The problem is described by M, melting parameter, \(\lambda \), mixed convection parameter, and \(\gamma \), the flow inertia coefficient, numerical results being obtained in terms of these three parameters. It is seen that the melting phenomenon reduces the heat transfer rate and enhances the boundary-layer separation at the solid–liquid interface. Asymptotic solutions for the forced convection, \(\lambda =0\), and free convection, large \(\lambda \), limits are derived.     

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.     

Analytic Series Solution for Unsteady Mixed Convection Boundary Layer Flow Near the Stagnation Point on a Vertical Surface in a Porous Medium

In this paper, we solve the unsteady mixed convection flow near the stagnation point on a heated vertical flat plate embedded in a Darcian fluid-saturated porous medium by means of an analytic technique, namely the Homotopy Analysis Method. Different from previous perturbation results, our analytic series solutions are accurate and uniformly valid for all dimensionless times and for all possible values of mixed convection parameter, and besides agree well with numerical results. This provides us with a new analytic approach to investigate related unsteady problems.     

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.     

Free Convection Boundary Layer Flow Past a Vertical Surface in a Porous Medium with Temperature-Dependent Properties

Numerical solutions for the free convection heat transfer in a viscous fluid at a permeable surface embedded in a saturated porous medium, in the presence of viscous dissipation with temperature-dependent variable fluid properties, are obtained. The governing equations for the problem are derived using the Darcy model and the Boussinesq approximation (with nonlinear density temperature variation in the buoyancy force term). The coupled non-linearities arising from the temperature-dependent density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and viscous dissipation are included. The partial differential equations of the model are reduced to ordinary differential equations by a similarity transformation and the resulting coupled, nonlinear ordinary differential equations are solved numerically by a second order finite difference scheme for several sets of values of the parameters. Also, asymptotic results are obtained for large values of | f _w|. Moreover, the numerical results for the velocity, the temperature, and the wall-temperature gradient are presented through graphs and tables, and are discussed. It is observed that by increasing the fluid variable viscosity parameter, one could reduce the velocity and thermal boundary layer thickness. However, quite the opposite is true with the non-linear density temperature variation parameter.     

The Convective Boundary-Layer Flow on a Reacting Surface in a Porous Medium

The convective boundary-layer flow on an impermeable vertical surface in a fluid-saturated porous medium is considered where the flow results from the heat released by an exothermic catalytic reaction on the surface converting a reactive component within the convective fluid to an inert product. The reaction is modelled by first-order kinetics with an Arrhenius temperature dependence. Numerical solutions of the governing equations are obtained for a range of parameter values. These show, for large activation energies, that localized rapid changes in wall temperature and localized high reaction rates occur a little way from the leading edge. Asymptotic expansions, valid at large distances from the leading edge, are derived, the form that these expansions take is qualitatively different depending on whether or not reactant consumption is included in the model.     

Effect of Viscous Dissipation on a Quasi-Parallel Free Convection Boundary-Layer Flow over a Vertical Flat Plate in a Porous Medium

Transport in Porous Media -     

Note to the Opposing Flow Regime at Mixed Convection Around a Heated Cylinder in a Porous Medium

Transport in Porous Media -