Natural Convection in a Porous Medium: Effects of Confinement, Variable Permeability, and Thermal Boundary Conditions

1976 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Ribando ◽  
K. E. Torrance

Two-dimensional numerical calculations are reported for natural convection of a fluid in a porous, horizontal layer heated from below. Effects of the following parameters are examined: rigid (impermeable) and constant-pressure (permeable) upper boundaries; isothermal and uniform heat flux at the lower boundary; and permeabilities which are constant, or which vary with depth to simulate compaction of a porous medium or property variations of real fluids within the medium. Steady-state results are presented for the heat flux distribution on the upper surface, as well as for flow and temperature fields in the interior.

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1407-1420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Sieres ◽  
Antonio Campo ◽  
José Martínez-Súarez

This paper presents an analytical and numerical computation of laminar natural convection in a collection of vertical upright-angled triangular cavities filled with air. The vertical wall is heated with a uniform heat flux; the inclined wall is cooled with a uniform temperature; while the upper horizontal wall is assumed thermally insulated. The defining aperture angle ? is located at the lower vertex between the vertical and inclined walls. The finite element method is implemented to perform the computational analysis of the conservation equations for three aperture angles ? (= 15?, 30? and 45?) and height-based modified Rayleigh numbers ranging from a low Ra = 0 (pure conduction) to a high 109. Numerical results are reported for the velocity and temperature fields as well as the Nusselt numbers at the heated vertical wall. The numerical computations are also focused on the determination of the value of the maximum or critical temperature along the hot vertical wall and its dependence with the modified Rayleigh number and the aperture angle.


Author(s):  
Bernardo Buonomo ◽  
Vincenzo Fardella ◽  
Oronzio Manca ◽  
Sergio Nardini ◽  
Salvatore Pragliola

Abstract In this work, a numerical investigation on two-dimensional steady state natural convection in a horizontal channel partially filled with a porous medium and heated at uniform heat flux from above is carried out. The lower plate is adiabatic. The porous medium is modeled using the Brinkman–Forchheimer-extended Darcy model and the local thermal equilibrium (LTE) hypothesis is assumed. The structure of the porous medium is homogenous and isotropic, the thermophysical properties of the air and the porous medium are temperature independent and the fluid flow is laminar and incompressible. The aluminum foam has 10, 20 and 40 pore per inches (PPI) and its porosity ranges from 0.90 and 0.95. Rayleigh number values are examined, from 6.0 × 104 and 1.2 × 107. Results are presented in terms of velocity and temperature fields, temperature and velocity profiles at different significant sections are shown, to obtain a description of the natural convection inside the open-ended cavity. Finally, Average Nusselt number values are evaluated. The horizontal open cavity partially filled with metal foam presents improved heat transfer behavior for higher Rayleigh numbers. The enhancement depends on the porosity and pore density. The average Nusselt number for the partially filled open cavity is the double of the configuration without the foam, clear configuration, for the highest considered Rayleigh number.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. W. Webb ◽  
T. L. Bergman

Natural convection in an enclosure with a uniform heat flux on two vertical surfaces and constant temperature at the adjoining walls has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The thermal boundary conditions and enclosure geometry render the buoyancy-induced flow and heat transfer inherently three dimensional. The experimental measurements include temperature distributions of the isoflux walls obtained using an infrared thermal imaging technique, while the three-dimensional equations governing conservation of mass, momentum, and energy were solved using a control volume-based finite difference scheme. Measurements and predictions are in good agreement and the model predictions reveal strongly three-dimensional flow in the enclosure, as well as high local heat transfer rates at the edges of the isoflux wall. Predicted average heat transfer rates were correlated over a range of the relevant dimensionless parameters.


Author(s):  
Degan Gerard ◽  
Sokpoli Amavi Ernest ◽  
Akowanou Djidjoho Christian ◽  
Vodounnou Edmond Claude

This research was devoted to the analytical study of heat transfer by natural convection in a vertical cavity, confining a porous medium, and containing a heat source. The porous medium is hydrodynamically anisotropic in permeability whose axes of permeability tensor are obliquely oriented relative to the gravitational vector and saturated with a Newtonian fluid. The side walls are cooled to the temperature  and the horizontal walls are kept adiabatic. An analytical solution to this problem is found for low Rayleigh numbers by writing the solutions of mathematical model in polynomial form of degree n of the Rayleigh number. Poisson equations obtained are solved by the modified Galerkin method. The results are presented in term of streamlines and isotherms. The distribution of the streamlines and the temperature fields are greatly influenced by the permeability anisotropy parameters and the thermal conductivity. The heat transfer decreases considerably when the Rayleigh number increases.


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