Thermoconvective flow in a saturated, isotropic, homogeneous porous medium using Brinkman’s model: numerical study

Abstract

Numerical results generated by a highly efficient finite‐difference method (originated by Keller for aerodynamical flows at the California Institute of Technology in 1970), and a robust double shooting Runge‐Kutta‐Merson scheme are presented for the boundary layer equations representing the convection flow of a viscous incompressible fluid past a hot vertical flat plate embedded in a non‐Darcy porous medium. Viscous dissipation due to mechanical work is included in the temperature field equation. The computations for both solution techniques are compared at the leading edge (ξ = 0.0) and found to be in excellent agreement. The effects of the viscous heating parameter (Ec), thermal conductivity ratio (λ) and a Darcy porous parameter (Re/GrDa) on the fluid velocities, temperatures, local shear stress and wall heat transfer rate are discussed with applications to geothermal and industrial flows.

Citation

Bèg, Ò.À., Takhar, H.S. and Soundalgekar, V.M. (1998), "Thermoconvective flow in a saturated, isotropic, homogeneous porous medium using Brinkman’s model: numerical study", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 8 No. 5, pp. 559-589. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615539810220298