A two-phase,two-component model for natural convection in a porous medium

A numerical study of natural convection in a two-phase, two-component flow in a porous medium heated from below is presented. Interphase mass and energy transfer, latent heat and bouyancy effects are major physical features. This study extends earlier studies of natural convection based on single-phase, saturated porous medium models. The appearance of two-phase heat pipe zones in the flow has a marked effect on the fluid and heat flows as well as on the performance of the numerical methods. The numerical techniques for handling phase change, Jacobian construction and time step selection are discussed.