Numerical Investigation of the Second Transition in the Problem of Plane Convective Flow through a Porous Medium

The problem of convective flow through a porous medium in a plane rectangular vessel with a linear temperature profile steadily maintained on the boundary is considered. Single-parameter families of steady-state regimes resulting from the existence of cosymmetry of the corresponding differential equations are investigated using the Galerkin method. The onset and development of instability on these families and the characteristics of convective regimes as functions of the seepage Rayleigh number and the rectangle side ratio are studied. It is shown that the number of regimes which lose stability, the instability type, the number of convective rollers developed, and the heat transfer depend significantly on the vessel geometry. Several bifurcations of single-parameter families of steady-state regimes are identified and investigated.