Ain Shams Engineering Journal (2015) xxx, xxxxxx

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Ain Shams Engineering Journal

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS

Thermo-diusive Darcy ow induced

by a concentrated source
R. Ganapathy a,*, A. Mohan b,1

a
Faculty of Sciences (Research), MAM College of Engineering, Anna University, Tiruchirapalli 621 105, India
b
Faculty of Sciences, Saranathan College of Engineering, Anna University, Tiruchirapalli 620 012, India

Received 27 March 2015; revised 24 June 2015; accepted 19 July 2015

KEYWORDS Abstract An analytic study is made of Soret-induced double diffusive Darcy flow produced in an
Thermo-diffusion; unbounded homogeneous porous medium of uniform porosity and low permeability when a
Darcy flow; concentrated source embedded instantaneously in the medium starts liberating heat and at the same
Porous medium; time a chemical substance too at a constant rate in a regime where the temperature gradient pro-
Concentrated source duces mass flux as well. A perturbation analysis in the limit of small Rayleigh number is employed
to obtain analytical solution for the determination of the transient and steady-state development of
the flow field and heat and mass transfer. Due to double diffusion, a bifurcation of the flow field is
noticed when the buoyancy mechanisms are opposed and due to the Soret-induced cross-diffusion,
the region in which the thermal effect of the source is felt, gets minimized with a simultaneous
reduction in the rate of momentum and heat transfer.
2015 Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction to the presence of point sources embedded in saturated porous

media and have obtained several results for the flow and tem-
In view of the wide ranging applications to a variety of fields perature fields assuming the validity of the Darcy and extended
such as the fluid dynamics of weak thermal explosions and Brinkman models in both infinite and semi-infinite media. One
cooling of the components of electrical and electronic of the earliest works being that of Wooding [1], who studied the
equipments, several researchers have investigated the free convection in a saturated porous medium at large Rayleigh
phenomenon of the buoyancy-driven thermal convection due number or Peclet number by developing a boundary-layer the-
ory for the analysis of vertical plane flows in regions where the
gradients of fluid properties are very large. Bejan [2] investi-
* Corresponding author. Mobile: +91 97894 99494. gated in the low Rayleigh number regime, the natural convec-
E-mail addresses: sowgar05@yahoo.com (R. Ganapathy), tion flow and heat transfer around a concentrated point
appavumohan@gmail.com (A. Mohan). source embedded in an unbounded porous medium using a reg-
1
Mobile: +91 98946 18086.
ular perturbation. Using similarity transformations, Hickox
Peer review under responsibility of Ain Shams University.
and Watts [3] obtained a numerical solution for the steady,
axi-symmetric velocity and temperature fields associated with
a point source of thermal energy while, Hickox [4] investigated
Production and hosting by Elsevier an identical problem with a special emphasis on its applications

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
2090-4479 2015 Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Please cite this article in press as: Ganapathy R, Mohan A, Thermo-diusive Darcy ow induced by a concentrated source, Ain Shams Eng J (2015), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
2 R. Ganapathy, A. Mohan
Nomenclature
A non-dimensional parameter, {(e/r)Le}1/2
C the species concentration
C non-dimensional species concentration
cp specific heat at constant pressure
DCT thermo-diffusion coefficient
Dm solutal diffusivity
E2 @=@gfg2  sin u@=@gg @=@ufsin u  @=@ug
(non-dimensional operator)
e1,2,3 unit vectors in the increasing directions of r, u,
and h
F function of (g; u) (Eq. (8))
f function of g (Eq. (24))
G function of (g; u) (Eq. (8))
g acceleration due to gravity
g1 function of g, Eq. (30)
H function of (g; u) (Eq. (8))
h1 function of g, Eq. (30)
K permeability of the porous medium
k thermal conductivity of the fluid-porous matrix
Le Lewis number a=Dm
m species generation rate
N buoyancy ratio bc mk=bQDm
n unit vector along the u = 0 axis
Q thermal energy of the source
q the mean filtration velocity of the fluid in the
medium
R non-dimensional radial co-ordinate
Ra thermal Rayleigh number bgK=amkQ
r radial co-ordinate
T temperature
t time
Greek symbols
a effective thermal diffusivity of the fluid-porous
matrix
to sub-seabed disposal of nuclear waste. Natural convection
from a point source embedded in a Darcian porous medium
bounded by an adiabatic conical surface was studied by Afzal
and Salam [5]. The development of the flow field and tempera-
ture induced by a pulsating point heat source was studied by
Purushothaman et al. [6], who obtained among other things,
an analytical solution for the second-order mean flow. Thermal
convection at low Rayleigh number induced by an instanta-
neous point heat source in a non-Darcy porous medium was
studied by Ganapathy and Purushothaman [7]. The Brinkman
term was found to affect the solution at radial distances up to
p
O K from the source. Ganapathy [8] treated an instanta-
neous point source which is enveloped by a solid sphere which
is itself surrounded by a porous medium. Recently, Ganapathy
and Mohan [9] investigated the non-linear Darcy flow and
obtained an analytical solution for the flow of water at 4 C
in a low Rayleigh number regime.
With the knowledge accumulated from studies on convec-
tive heat transfer due to the presence of heat sources in porous
media, considerable attention is now being paid on more
sophisticated problems that lay stress on mass transfer effects.
Please cite this article in press as: Ganapathy R, Mohan A, Thermo-diusive Darcy ow induced by a concentrated source, Ain Shams Eng J (2015), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
b thermal expansion coefficient
bC solutal expansion coefficient
d integration parameter, Eq. (30)
k Soret parameter (QDCT/km)
e porosity of the porous matrix
f cos u
f1;2 functions of g (Eqs. (32)(33))
p
g similarity variable, R=2 s
h polar angle
H non-dimensional temperature
l coefficient of viscosity of the fluid
m kinematic viscosity of the fluid
n function of g, Eq. (27)
q fluid density
r heat capacity ratio, e 1  eqcp s =qcp f
s non-dimensional time
X function of g, Eq. 33(c)
u cone angle
v function of g, Eq. (25)
W non-dimensional stream function
w stream function
x non-dimensional parameter, k=1  A2
r vector operator, e1 @=@r e2 r1 @=@u
1
e3 r2 sin u @=@h
D differential operator r2 f@=@rr2 @=@r sin u1
@=@usin u  @=@ug
Subscripts
1 reference state
k kth term (k = 0, 1, 2, . . .)
m maximum value
n nth term (n = 0, 1, 2, . . .)
f fluid phase
s solid phase
In fact, in most practical situations, quite often, species con-
centration gradients greatly affect the flow and as a result they
play a decisive role in the development of the flow and thermal
fields. In view of its wide ranging applications to energy related
engineering problems such as migration of moisture in fibrous
insulations, spreading of pollutants in water saturated soil and
underground disposal of nuclear waste, considerable work has
been done and several results are available in the literature on
such thermohaline convection. However, with the possible
exception of the works of Poulikakos [10] and Ganapathy
[11], most of the existing studies on such thermohaline convec-
tion in spherical geometry, are primarily concerned with spher-
ical sources and heated spheres only (for instance, Ganapathy
and Mohan [12], Ganapathy [13]), Lai and Kulaki [14]) and
those concerned with concentrated point sources seem to be
limited in the literature. While Poulikakos [10] reports an ana-
lytical study on the buoyancy induced heat and mass transfer
from a concentrated source in an infinite porous medium
assuming the Darcy flow model, Ganapathy [11] dealt with
an identical problem of penetrative convection in a non-
Darcy medium assuming the validity of the Brinkman model.
Thermo-diffusive Darcy flow 3

However, when the temperature gradient is steep, cross- medium Boussinesq is incompressible with the linear density-
coupling between thermal and solutal diffusions is no longer temperature-concentration relation:
negligible which in turn necessitates the inclusion of the Soret
q q1 f1  bT  T1  bC C  C1 g; 1
effect. Presumably for this reason, Soret effect is being widely
considered for isotope separation and in mixture of gases of where the symbols have their usual meanings (see nomencla-
light and medium molecular weights and there are several stud- ture). A spherical-polar co-ordinate system r; u; h is chosen
ies available in the literature on Soret-induced free convection [19] with the origin at the seat of the point source and the axis
flows in porous media. For instance, Benano-Melly et al. [15] u = 0 vertically upwards and parallel but opposite to the grav-
presented an experimental and numerical study that was con- ity vector (Fig. 1). Thus, assuming the validity of the Darcy
cerned with Soret coefficient measurement in a porous medium flow model, we have for the conservation of mass, momentum,
subjected to a horizontal thermal gradient and have shown energy and species concentration with thermo-diffusion in the
that for positive Soret number steady convection occurs medium in the absence of dispersion [20]:
whereas, for a negative Soret number, multiple convection r~
q 0; 2
rolls can develop. An analytical and numerical study of con-
vection in a shallow horizontal porous layer with uniform heat K
flux applied at the horizontal walls and with or without mass ~
q rP bqg~
n; 3
l
flux at those walls is reported by Bahloul et al. [16]. Using a
linear and nonlinear stability analysis, Malashetty and Biradar @T
[17] studied analytically the double-diffusive convection in a r ~
q  rT aDT; 4
@t
horizontal fluid-saturated porous layer heated and salted from
below in the presence of Soret and Dufour effects. However, @C
e ~
q  rC DDm C DCT T: 5
majority of the existing studies on this topic are primarily con- @t
cerned with rectangular geometries bounded by vertical or hor- In writing the above equations, besides assuming the Soret
izontal flat plates or in enclosures and those pertaining to coefficient small, we assume that the medium and the saturat-
concentrated sources in unbounded porous media have ing fluid are in thermal equilibrium and that all other physical
remained largely untreated which indeed has motivated our quantities are constant except in the buoyancy term.
interest in the present topic. Making use of (2) and taking note of spherical symmetry in
The aim of the present work is therefore, to investigate the the angular direction h, we define a stream function w such
double-diffusive and Soret-induced free convection flow that:
induced by a concentrated source of thermal energy and con-

centration in an unbounded porous medium assuming the 1 @w 1 @w
~
q 2 ; ;0 : 6
validity of the Darcy flow model. A regular perturbation tech- r sin u @u r sin u @r
nique in the limit of small Rayleigh number is employed to
obtain an analytical solution for the flow field and heat and
mass transfer in the medium assuming that a mass flux is being
produced by the temperature gradient, which, in other words,
implies that the Soret effect is being taken into account. The
problem is formulated in such a way that the significance of
cross-diffusion is measured by the Soret parameter k and that
of the species concentration gradients upon thermally driven
flow is measured by a parameter N so that, N is zero for no
species diffusion, infinite for no thermal diffusion, positive
for both the buoyancy mechanisms combined to drive the flow
and negative when they are opposed [18].
By way of summary of what has been done, the mathemat-
ical problem is formulated in Section 2, and the method of
solution is provided in Section 3 with a discussion on the
transient state in Section 4. The steady-state is discussed in
Section 5. Finally, we conclude the study in Section 6 with a
review of the results obtained.

2. Mathematical formulation

We consider the natural convective heat and mass transfer flow

around a continuous point source embedded instantaneously
in an unbounded porous medium of low permeability, from
which a quantity qcQ of heat is liberated together with a
substance at a rate m [kg s1], where q is the fluid density, cp Figure 1 Physical setup of the problem. Concentrated source
the specific heat at constant pressure and Q [W], the thermal embedded in an unbounded porous medium. Configuration of
energy of the source. The medium is assumed to be rigid, interest: Spherical-polar co-ordinate system (r; u; h) with the origin
homogeneous and isotropic and the fluid saturating the at the seat of the point source.

Please cite this article in press as: Ganapathy R, Mohan A, Thermo-diusive Darcy ow induced by a concentrated source, Ain Shams Eng J (2015), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
4 R. Ganapathy, A. Mohan


Introducing the non-dimensional quantities: Fg; u F0 g; u Ra F1 g; u O R2a ;
p

r at w k K T  T 1 Gg; u G0 g; u Ra G1 g; u O R2a ;
R p ; s ; W p ; H ;

K rK a K Q Hg; u H0 g; u Ra H1 g; u O R2a : 14a; c

p
Dm KC  C1 Substituting (14) into (9)(11) and collecting terms of equal
C : 7
m powers of Ra , one obtains the equations for the determination
and setting of the various order solutions. As the zero-order solution cor-
responds to the state of pure conduction, there will be no fluid
p 1 1
W s  Fg; u; H p  Gg; u; C p  Hg; u 8 motion and therefore without any loss one may take W0 0
s s which then implies F0 0. The functions G0 and H0 are then
p
with g R=2 s, we obtain for the conservation of momen- found from the solutions of the equations:
tum, energy and concentration in non-dimensional form:
  
@ @G0 @G0

   2  g2 2g2 G0 g 0; 15
1 @ 1 @F 1 @ F @g @g @g

g2 @u sin u @u sin u @g2    
    @
@G @G @H @H 2 @ @H0
4Ra cos u g sin u N cos u gsin u ; g H0 kG0 2A g H0 g
2 2
0: 16
@u @g @u @g @g @g @g
9 Using (13) one obtains from (15) and (16) for the solutions of

   G0 and H0 :
1 @ F; G @G
E2 G 2g2 sin u G g ; 10 1
2 @ u; g @g G0 erfcg; 17
2g

  
1 @ F; H @H
Le E2 H kG 2A2 g2 sin u H g ;
2 @ u; g @g H0
1
f1 x  erfcAg  x  erfcgg; A 1 18a
11 2g
 
1 k

where erfcg p g  exp g2 ; A 1 18b

2g p
a ne o12
Le ;A Le ; 12a where x k=1  A2 and
Dm r Z g
2

erfcg 1  p exp x2 dx 18c

p 0
@ p; q @p @q @p @q
   12b is the complementary error function. Once the functions
@ x; y @x @y @y @x
Fk ; Gk and Hk are known 8k < n then we can find Fn for
is the Jacobian. The initial and boundary conditions necessary n P 1, from the following equation:
for the completion of the mathematical formulation in non-    2 
1 @ 1 @Fn 1 @ Fn
dimensional form are:
g2 @u sin u @u sin u @g2
g1 F ! 0; gG ! 0; gH ! 0; as g ! 1;  
Z p Z p @Gn1 @Gn1
@G @H 4 cos u g  sin u
F ! 0; g2 sin u  du ! 1; g2 sin u  du ! 1; @u @g
0 @g 0 @g  
@Hn1 @Hn1
as g ! 0; N cos u g  sin u : 19
@u @g
@F @G @H
sin u1 0; 0 at u 0; p 13a; c Similarly, for the determination of the functions Gn and Hn
@g @u @u
we have
where the path of the integral in (13b) is along the geodesic of a
X  
1 n1 @ Fnk ; Gk @Gn
spherical surface of vanishingly small radius that includes the E2 Gn 2g2 sin u Gn g ; 20
2 k0 @ u; g @g
source at its center. On account of axial symmetry, the vertical
axis passing through the point source is a natural streamline of
X  
the flow field and therefore, without any loss one may assume 1 n1 @ Fnk ; Hk @Hn
E2 Hn kGn 2A2 g2 sin u Hn g :
W = 0 thereat. The asymptotic behavior at the origin is there- 2 k0 @ u; g @g
fore described by W ! 0 as R ! 0. Further, the origin being 21
the seat of the point source, is a point of singularity and there-
fore, the singularity at the origin must be a minimum. The appropriate boundary conditions are obtained form (13).

3. Method of solution 3.1. The flow field

We seek a perturbation solution by assuming power series The first convective correction to the flow field is found from
expansions of the form: the solution of the following equation:

Please cite this article in press as: Ganapathy R, Mohan A, Thermo-diusive Darcy ow induced by a concentrated source, Ain Shams Eng J (2015), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
Thermo-diffusive Darcy flow 5
   
1 @ 1 @F1 1 @ 2 F1
where
g @u sin u @u
2 sin u @g2

    1 1

@G0 @H0 ng g  erfcg erfg  p exp g2 : 27c

4g  sin u N ; 22 2g p
@g @g
subject to:
4. Discussion
g1 F1 ! 0 as g ! 1; F1 ! 0 as g ! 0;
@F1 Among the several new parameters that have entered into the
sin u1 0 at u 0; p; 23a b
@g solution, x and A play a significant role in the development
of the flow field. While x determines the Soret effect on the flow
in which the separation of the variables is achieved by setting
field and heat and mass transfer, the parameter A has a striking
F1 g; u sin2 u  fg: 24 effect on the transient flow field especially when the two buoy-
ancy mechanisms are opposed. It may be mentioned here that A
This then leads to an ordinary differential equation of sec-
represents the ratio of two length scales namely, the ratio of
ond order for the determination of f (g):
thermal penetration length Oas=r1=2  to that of species pene-
g2 f 00 g  2fg vg; 25 tration ODm s=e1=2 . Therefore, when A is of order less than
where the primes denote differentiation with respect to the one, chemical species diffuse faster than that of heat at early
argument and times so that, outside the region in which the thermal effect
of the source is felt, species concentration gradients act alone
 
2
creating a downward flow. With a view to exemplify the situa-
vg 1  Nx g  erfcg p g2 exp g2

 
p

tion, the maps of the transient streamlines W1 =Ra = const. are
N 2
drawn in Fig. 2, choosing in illustration x = 0.5, A = 0.4 and
1 x Ag  erfcAg p A2 g2 exp A2 g2 ; A 1 26a
A p
N = 0.2. The range of values of A we have chosen is valid for
  a variety of physical and laboratory models; for instance, in the
2

1 N g  erfcg p g2 exp g2 case of diffusion of methanol and hydrogen in water saturated
p glass beads, (e/r)  1.2, Le  0.3 so that A  0:36 and for dif-
 
2
fusion of methanol and hydrogen in water, (e/r)  0.22,
N p g4 exp g2 ; A 1: 26b
p Le  100.3 so that A  2:2. Furthermore, N being the
buoyancy ratio [21,22], is negative when the two buoyancy
The solution for W1 is now given by
mechanisms are opposed and therefore for simplicity we have

 
p 2 N so chosen N that N/A = 1/2. It is observable from the figures
W1 s sin u 1  Nxng 1 xnAg ; A 1
A that there is a bifurcation of the flow field in that, the streamli-
27a nes close to the source rotate clockwise whereas, those in the

 
p kN 1 1
opposite direction rotate anticlockwise giving life for a down-
s sin2 u 1 Nng erfg  p exp g2 ;
2p 2g p ward flow. In the early stages of flow development, there is a
A 1 27b concentration of the velocity field around the point source with

(a) (b)
Figure 2 Transient streamlines W1 =Ra = const. (A = 0.4, N = 0.2, x = 0.5). (a) s = 0.5 (b) s = 1.0.

Please cite this article in press as: Ganapathy R, Mohan A, Thermo-diusive Darcy ow induced by a concentrated source, Ain Shams Eng J (2015), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
6 R. Ganapathy, A. Mohan
the streamlines of the circulating flow field coming close
together near the origin and as s increases, the geometry radi-
cally changes in such a way that the flow pattern present near
the source spreads outward driving with the enveloping down-
ward flow to move farther away from the source. Conse-
quently, for large times, the flow field resembles that due to
the presence of a concentrated source of thermal energy [2],
with the dual counter rotating cells breaking down to a single
cell allowing the viscous and thermal diffusion to dominate in
the ultimate stage. This then shows that though initially the
solute front moved slower than that of the thermal front, as
time progressed, it reached the steady-state at approximately
the same time as that of the thermal front. Furthermore, in
the early stages, the rate of propagation of the flow field is slow
in relation to the rate of its growth and the entire process is
dominated by viscosity coupled with thermal and species diffu-
sion. There is no accumulation of heat and concentration into
the flow field and the flow in and around the streamlines
remains laminar which is analogous to buoyant plumes that rise
from steady sources of heat or other sources of positive buoy-
ancy for overall small Rayleigh numbers [23]. However, at all
times, the symmetry of the streamlines about the u = p/2 axis
is preserved. The above findings are essentially properties of the
transient state and are valid in the diffusion dominated regime
only. Due to the impulsive effect of the source, there is a slight
bulging of the streamlines in the vicinity of the source which is
essentially created by the fluid particles converging toward the
source in order to replace those that were already driven
upward under the action of buoyancy and the distance within
which this impulsive effect is felt is affected by the mass transfer
induced buoyancy. Our computations reveal that W1 attains its
maximum at a certain point Rm ; um where Rm depends on x
and N and um = p/2 by virtue of (27). As the fluid velocity van-
ishes at this point, it corresponds to the stagnation point of the
fluid motion which moves away from the origin as s increases,
receding to infinity ultimately with a slow rate of recession. For
the parameters under consideration, Rm 0:9 and 1.3 when
s = 0.5 and 1.0 respectively. The distribution of heat and con-
centration in the flow field is such that the temperature and spe-
Figure 3 Profiles of radial velocity U/cosu. Maps for various
values of N and x (s = 1, A = 0.4). (i) N = 0.2, x = 0.5 (ii)
N = 0.2, x = 0 (iii) N = 0 (iv) N = 0.2, x = 0 (v) N = 0.2,
x = 0.5.
Please cite this article in press as: Ganapathy R, Mohan A, Thermo-diusive Darcy ow induced by a concentrated source, Ain Shams Eng J (2015), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
cies concentration decrease outward from the origin in all
directions with symmetry about the horizontal plane through
the source.
From the radial velocity profiles drawn in Fig. 3 one may
observe that at any time s, relative to the no cross-diffusion limit
x = 0, positive x increases the magnitude when N > 0 and
decreases the same when N < 0, thereby weakening the already
weakened convection when the buoyancy mechanisms are
opposed. However, in either case, as time progresses, there is
a monotonic increase in the magnitude which after some time,
starts decreasing at an ever decreasing rate to zero at positions
farther away from the source. In the special case A = 1
(N = 0.2, k = 0.42) (Fig. 4) the characteristics of flow field
described above remain the same though of course, there is no
downward flow which is otherwise expected. For this case, the
stagnation point is found to be at (0.88, p/2). In order to have
a comprehensive estimate of the Soret effect on the transient
behavior of the flow field, streamlines are drawn in Fig. 5 choos-
ing in illustration x = 0.5 and x = 0. Though the flow pattern
is qualitatively preserved, the contours reveal that in the early
stages, the solutal buoyancy force has a greater impact on the
emerging flow field with the colder front showing stronger con-
vection than the warmer one when there is cross-diffusion
(x = 0.5) than otherwise (x = 0). Consequently, the down-
ward flow enveloping the circulating flow field comes closer to
the source (Fig. 5a) so that the region in which the thermal effect
of the source is felt, is significantly reduced, the reduction in vol-
ume being about 39% when k = 0.42. When x = 0.5 the stag-
nation point of the flow field is found to be at g = 0.625 and
when x = 0, it is found to be at 0.76. One may then infer that
cross-diffusion slows down the rate of propagation of the solute
front which confirms the assertion we have previously made. As
the above arguments hold equally in respect of other values of
positive k, we omit a discussion on them for brevity.
In this context, the work of Nejad et al. [24] is worth
mentioning. By considering a two-dimensional porous medium
Figure 4 Transient streamlines W1 =Ra s1=2 = const. around
the concentrated source (A = 1, N = 0.2, k = 0.42).
Thermo-diffusive Darcy flow 7

(a) (b)
Figure 5 Cross-diffusion: Transient streamlines W1 =Ra s1=2 = const. (A = 0.4, N = 0.2). (a) x = 0.5 (b) x = 0.

  
saturated with a mixture of methane and normal butane 1 @ F1 ;H0 @H1
E2 H1 kG1 2A2 g2 sinu H1 g ; 28b
(C1/nC4), Nejad and co-authors investigated the role of 2 @ u;g @g
thermo-diffusion on heat and mass transfer assuming the
subject to,
validity of the Darcy extended Brinkman model and have
shown that in the early stages of experimentation at a horizon- gG1 ! 0; gH1 ! 0 as g ! 1;
Z p Z p
tal temperature difference of 10 C with an initial concentra- @G1 @H1
tion of 0.8 and Soret coefficient equal to 1.1  102 [K1], g2 sin u  du ! 0; g2 sin u  du ! 0;
0 @g 0 @g
dual counter rotating cells were formed which gained strength @G1 @H1
as time progressed but finally collapsing to a single cell. It was 0 at u 0; p: 29a-c
@u @u
further shown that the solute front moved slower than that of
the thermal front in the early times and their respective steady- Setting
states were reached approximately at the same time. The above G1 g; u cos u  g1 g; H1 g; u cos u  h1 g; 30a-b
results are in conformity with most of the observations we
have put forth in Section 4 and therefore, notwithstanding and using the method of variation of parameters one finally
the physical setup of the problem, the flow model and the ensu- obtains
Z  Z 1 
ing flow field, in the absence of any available experimental data 1
g 2

pertaining to problems similar to the present work, our choice g1 g 2 exp g2 d exp d2 f1 -d- dd;
g 0 d
of k is justified. It may be mentioned here that in a binary mix-
31a
ture, the heaviest component migrates to the cold side and like-
wise, if the mixture components are of the same mass, then the Z  Z 
1
g
1
larger molecules migrate to the cold side. In either case, the h1 g 2 2
exp A2 g2 d2 exp d2 f2 -d- dd;
Soret number is positive. On the other hand, if the component Ag 0 d

migrating toward the cold side is the lighter one then the Soret 31b
number is negative [15]. As our study is primarily concerned where
with a single component chemical species in a single phase fluid 
 
and as migration of fluid particles is from the hotter region to N
f1 g  1  Nxvg 1 xvAg  Xg; A 1
the colder one, the Soret parameter assumes only positive val- A
ues. Although, smaller values of k of the order of 102 could 32a
have been chosen, for the sake of mathematical simplicity, 1 Nxvg kNfngg  g  erfcg
we have so chosen k that x = 0.5.
 Xg; A 1 32b
4.1. Thermal and concentration fields 
 
N
f2 g Le  A2 1 Nxvg 1 xvAg
A
The first convective correction to the temperature and concen- 
 
tration field is found from the solutions of the equations: x
 1 xXAg  Xg
A2

    2 00 
1 @ F 1 ; G 0 @G1  k g G g 2gG0 g  2Gg ; A 1 33a
E2 G1 2g2 sin u G1 g ; 28a
2 @ u; g @g

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8 R. Ganapathy, A. Mohan

lim 1  f2 Ff 0; 38a
f!1

Z 1 Z 1
Gfdf 2; Hfdf 2: 38b
0 0

Assuming power series expansions of the form:

Ff Ra F1 f R2a F2 f R3a F3 f O R4a ;

Gf G0 f Ra G1 f R2a G2 f O R3a ;

Hf H0 f Ra H1 f R2a H2 f O R3a ; 39a-c

one obtains for the first three non-vanishing coefficients of
(39):
1

F1 f 1 N 1  f2 ;
2
1

F2 f 1 Nf1 NLe  kg f  f3 ;
6
Figure 6 Maps of first convective correction to transient 1
F3 f 1 Nf1 NLe  kg2f1 NLe  kg
temperature/concentration profiles. (Ra s1=2 )(H1 or C1 ) = const. 288

(Le = A = 1). (a) k = 0 (b) k = 0.42. 31 N 1 2f2  3f4 ; 40a-c

G0 f 1;
Le1 Nvg kNfng  g  erfcgg

  1
k
G1 f 1 Nf;
 Xg g exp g2 2
2p 1

  G2 f 1 N2f1 NLe  kg 31 N 3f2  1 ;

 k g2 G00 g 2gG0 g  2Gg ; A 1 33b 72
and 41a-c



1 2

Xg erfcg p exp g2 : 33c H0 f 1;

g2 g p
1
H1 f 1 NLe  kf;
Owing to algebraic complexity, we evaluate the integrals 2
numerically and plot the maps of the temperature/concentra- 1
H2 f 1 NLe  k2f1 NLe  kg
tion profiles in Fig. 6 with Le = A = 1. Obviously, cross- 72

flow inhibits heat transfer when the two buoyancy mechanisms 31 N 3f2  1 : 42a-c
are opposed in such a way that an increase in the Soret param-
eter decreases the heat transfer rate further. On the other hand, The steady-state flow field illustrated in Fig. 7, with N = 0.2,
it aids heat transfer when the buoyancy mechanisms are com-
bined to drive the flow. As the algebra is overwhelming,
higher-order corrections were not obtained. However, the
error due to the non-inclusion of these terms is not of great
physical significance since ORa < 1 [4,3].

5. Steady-state

In view of the fact that W ! 0 as R ! 0 and that both H and C

blow up as (1/R) in the vicinity of the source, one may set
W R  Ff; H R1  Gf; C R1  Hf; 34
with, f = cos u. Obviously, the maps fF; G; Hg : 1; 1 ! R,
satisfy the following system:


d dF
Ra ffGf N  Hfg 0; 35
df df

dG
1  f2 Ff  Gf; 36
df

d
1  f2 H kG Ff  Hf; 37
df Figure 7 Steady-state flow. Maps of streamlines W = const.
(Le = 0.2, N = 0.2, k = 0.42, Ra = 3).

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Thermo-diffusive Darcy flow
Figure 8 Steady-state isotherms H = const. (Ra = 3, N = 0.2,
k = 0.42).
Le = 0.2 and k = 0.42 shows that the streamlines are a little
wider apart from the vertical axis in the lower half space than
in the upper one and as k increases, this phenomenon gets
more pronounced. Likewise, as Ra increases, these streamlines
tend to migrate towards the upper half space. Unlike the
conduction state wherein the isotherms are circular, here in
the conduction aided convective state we find them elongated
(Fig. 8) thereby shifting the warmer region upwards while
inducing at the same time a relatively weaker change in the
lower half space. When the buoyancy mechanisms are
opposed, as dictated by (11), one may observe that by increas-
ing the Lewis number without changing other parameters, the
high concentration region shifts upwards without significantly
affecting the isotherms. The above discussions hold as long as
k 0. The case k = 0 was already discussed by Poulikakos
[10].
6. Conclusion
Assuming the validity of the Darcy flow model, we have pre-
sented an analytical study of the double-diffusive and Soret-
induced natural convective flow in an infinite porous medium
of uniform porosity due to the presence of a spherically sym-
metric concentrated source of vanishingly small radius. The
generation of a substance simultaneously with heat generation
from the concentrated source in a regime where the tempera-
ture gradient produces mass flux as well is found to affect
the buoyancy induced flow that penetrates the infinite porous
medium. The effect of the several new parameters that have
entered into the solution in altering the transient behavior of
the problem is illustrated in Figs. 25. By assuming power ser-
ies expansions of the functions representing the flow, thermal
and concentration fields, a regular perturbation method in
the limit of low Rayleigh number is employed to obtain the
analytical solution which is valid in the diffusion dominated
regime only. All discussions focus on the case where the net
flow is upwards. From the above analysis the following conclu-
sions may be drawn:
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9
(i) In the early stages of flow development, dual counter-
rotating cells are formed leading to a bifurcation of
the flow field in that, those close to the source rotate
clockwise whereas, those in the opposite direction rotate
anticlockwise giving life for a downward flow.
(ii) As time progresses, the flow diffuses further and devel-
ops such that for large times, the flow field resembles
that due to the presence of a concentrated source of ther-
mal energy with the dual counter rotating cells breaking
down to a single cell giving way for viscous and thermal
diffusion to dominate in the ultimate stage.
(iii) The solute front moved slower than that of the thermal
front in the early stages and their respective steady-states
are reached approximately at the same time.
(iv) In early times, the rate of propagation of the flow field is
slow in relation to the rate of its growth and the entire
process is dominated by viscosity coupled with thermal
and species diffusion.
(v) Due to the impulsive effect of the source, not-
withstanding the Soret effect, there is a slight bulging
of the streamlines in the vicinity of the source and the
distance within which this impulsive effect is felt is
affected by the mass transfer induced buoyancy.
(vi) An increase in the Soret parameter, steadily decreases
the magnitude of the radial velocity when the buoyancy
mechanisms are opposed and increases the magnitude in
the opposite case.
(vii) In the bifurcated flow field, due to the Soret effect, there
is a 39% reduction in the volume of the region in which
the thermal effect of the source is felt when k = 0.42 so
that the rate of propagation of the solute front becomes
slow due to the Soret effect.
(viii) Cross-diffusion inhibits heat transfer when the two
buoyancy mechanisms are opposed in such a way that
an increase in the Soret parameter further decreases
the heat transfer rate.
(ix) In the steady-state, the streamlines are a little wider
apart from the vertical axis in the lower half space than
in the upper one which gets more pronounced with an
increase in k.
(x) By increasing the Lewis number without changing other
parameters, the high concentration region shifts
upwards while at the same time inducing not so effective
change on the isotherms.
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to the referees for their many useful
suggestions which led to a definite improvement of the paper.
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10.1016/j.asej.2015.07.011
R. Ganapathy, A. Mohan
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Dr. R. Ganapathy. After graduating from St.
Josephs College, Madras University,
Tiruchirapalli, India, Dr. Ranganathan Gana-
pathy, joined the National College, Madras
University, Tiruchirapalli, as an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Mathematics.
Dr. Ganapathy later joined the National
Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli, as a
full-time research scholar and obtained his
Doctorate in 1992. His thesis on Free Con-
vective Flows induced by Heat Sources in Porous Media was highly
commended. He has published more than 30 papers in international
Journals published by Elsevier, Pergamon Press, North-Holland,
Springer, Wiley-Verlag and ASME. His Fields of Interest include Heat
and Mass Transfer flows in Porous Media, Dynamics of Nano Fluids,
Mathematical Modeling, Operations Research and Numerical analy-
sis.
He is a life member of a number of Professional bodies including the
Indian Society for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. He is recog-
nized in Marquis Whos Who (Science and Engineering) as a Mathe-
matics Educator, Researcher and a Consultant. Presently, he is a
Senior Professor (Research), Faculty of Sciences, MAM College of
Engineering, Anna University, Tiruchirapalli.
Prof. A. Mohan. After obtaining the M.Phil.
degree from the Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University, Tirunelveli, India, Prof. Appavu
Mohan joined Saranathan College of Engi-
neering, Anna University, Tiruchirapalli,
India, during the year 2001 and has been
serving the Institution in various capacities.
Presently he heads the Department of Math-
ematics.
Prof. Mohan has specialized in free convection
flows in porous media and in Fussy Mathematics and has many papers
to his credit in Journals of repute. He has presented many of his
research works in International Conferences.
Prof. Mohan is a life member of many professional bodies including
the Indian Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. His fields of
interest include Computational Fluid Mechanics, Theoretical Com-
puter Science, Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Analysis.