Transp Porous Med (2011) 88:107–131

DOI 10.1007/s11242-011-9727-8

Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous

Layer With Thermal Non Equilibrium Model

B. S. Bhadauria · Shilpi Agarwal

Received: 25 October 2010 / Accepted: 11 January 2011 / Published online: 29 January 2011
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Abstract The effect of local thermal non-equilibrium on linear and non-linear thermal
instability in a horizontal porous medium saturated by a nanofluid has been investigated
analytically. The Brinkman Model has been used for porous medium, while nanofluid incor-
porates the effect of Brownian motion along with thermophoresis. A three-temperature model
has been used for the effect of local thermal non-equilibrium among the particle, fluid, and
solid-matrix phases. The linear stability is based on normal mode technique, while for non-
linear analysis, a minimal representation of the truncated Fourier series analysis involving
only two terms has been used. The critical conditions for the onset of convection and the heat
and mass transfer across the porous layer have been obtained numerically.

Keywords Local thermal non-equilibrium · Nanofluid · Porous medium ·

Instability · Natural convection · Horton–Roger–Lapwood problem

Latin Symbols
DB Brownian Diffusion coefficient
DT Thermophoretic diffusion coefficient
Da Darcy number
Pr Prandtl number
d Dimensional layer depth
kf Effective thermal conductivity of porous medium
kT Thermal diffusivity of porous medium
Le Lewis number

B. S. Bhadauria (B) · S. Agarwal

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, DST-Centre for Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
e-mail: drbsbhadauria@yahoo.com
S. Agarwal
e-mail: shilpiagarwal.2006@gmail.com

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108 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

NA Modified diffusivity ratio

NB Modified particle-density increment
NHP Nield number for the fluid/particle interface
NHS Nield number for the fluid/solid-matrix interface
p Pressure
g Gravitational acceleration
Ra Thermal Rayleigh–Darcy number
Rm Basic density Rayleigh number
Rn Concentration Rayleigh number
t Time
T Nanofluid temperature
Tc Temperature at the upper wall
Th Temperature at the lower wall
v Nanofluid velocity
vD Darcy velocity εv
(x, y, z) Cartesian coordinates

Greek symbols
kf
αf Thermal diffusivity of the fluid defined as
(ρc)f
β Proportionality factor
γP Modified thermal capacity ratio
γS Modified thermal capacity ratio
ε Porosity
εP Modified thermal diffusivity ratio
εS Modified thermal diffusivity ratio
μ Viscosity of the fluid
ρf Fluid density
ρp Nanoparticle mass density
(ρc)f Heat capacity of the fluid
(ρc)s Heat capacity of the solid-matrix material
(ρc)p Heat capacity of the nanoparticle material
φ Nanoparticle volume fraction
ψ Stream function

Subscripts
b Basic solution
f Fluid phase
p Particle phase
s Solid-matrix phase

Superscripts
* Dimensional variable
 Perturbation variable

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 109

1 Introduction

Natural Convection, or buoyancy driven convection, is the heat removal strategy adopted in
a wide variety of industries ranging from transportation, HVAC, and energy production and
supply to electronics, textiles and paper production, geophysical problems, nuclear reactors
to name a few (Choi 1999). Conventional heat transfer liquids have low thermal conductiv-
ity. Nanofluids are mixtures of base fluid such as water or ethylene-glycol with a very small
amount of nanoparticles such as metallic or metallic oxide particles (Cu, Cuo, Al2 O3 , SiO,
TiO), having dimensions from 1 to 100 nm, with very high thermal conductivities. It was Choi
(1995) who christened the term “nanofluid”. A significant feature of nanofluids is thermal
conductivity enhancement, a phenomenon which was first reported by Masuda et al. (1993).
Many modern industries deal with heat transfer in some or the other way, and thus have a
strong need for improved heat transfer mediums. This could possibly be nanofluids—because
of some potential benefits over normal fluids—large surface area provided by nanoparticles
for heat exchange, reduced pumping power due to enhanced heat transfer, minimal clogging,
innovation of miniaturized systems leading to savings of energy and cost. Eastman et al.
(2001) reported an increase of 40% in the effective thermal conductivity of ethylene-glycol
with 0.3% volume of copper nanoparticles of 10-nm diameter. Das et al. (2003) reported
a 10–30% increase of the effective thermal conductivity in alumina/water nanofluids with
1–4% of alumina. These reports led Buongiorno and Hu (2005) to suggest the possibility of
using nanofluids in advanced nuclear systems. Another recent application of the nanofluid
flow is in the delivery of nano-drug as suggested by Kleinstreuer et al. (2008).
Eastman et al. (2004) conducted a comprehensive review on thermal transport in nano-
fluids to conclude that a satisfactory explanation for the abnormal enhancement in thermal
conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids needs further studies. Buongiorno (2006) conducted
a comprehensive study to account for the unusual behavior of nanofluids based on Iner-
tia, Brownian diffusion, thermophoresis, diffusiophoresis, Magnus effects, fluid drainage
and gravity settling, and proposed a model incorporating the effects of Brownian diffusion
and the thermophoresis. With the help of these equations, studies were conducted by Tzou
(2008a, b), Kim et al. (2004, 2006, 2007) and more recently by Nield and Kuznetsov (2009,
2010).
Convection in porous media is of practical applications in modern science and engi-
neering, including food and chemical processes, rotating machineries like nuclear reactors,
petroleum industry, biomechanics, and geophysical problems. Convection in porous medium
has been studied by many authors including Horton and Rogers (1945), Lapwood (1948),
Nield (1968), Rudraiah and Malashetty (1986), Murray and Chen (1989), Malashetty (1993)
Pop and Ingham (2001), Vafai (2005, 2010), Nield and Bejan (2006), and Vadasz (2008). The
above studies have been conducted assuming local thermal equilibrium (LTE) between the
fluid and solid-matrix phases, i.e., it is assumed that the temperature difference at any location
between the two phases is absent. But for many practical applications, involving high-speed
flows or large temperature differences between the fluid and solid phases, the assumption of
LTE is inadequate and it is important to take account of the local thermal non-equilibrium
(LTNE) effects. The LTNE model of convective heat transfer in porous medium has been
dealt by many authors including Kuznetsov (1998), Ingham and Pop (1998, 2005), Rees and
Pop (2005), Baytas and Pop (2002), Baytas (2003), Saeid (2004), Malashetty et al. (2005a, b,
2008), and Straughan (2006).
Because of their unique properties as heat transfer fluids, nanofluids are being looked
upon as great coolants of the future. Thus studies need to be conducted involving nanofluids
in porous media and without it. Recently, Kuznetsov and Nield (2010a) studied the onset

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110 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

of thermal instability in a porous medium saturated by a nanofluid using Brinkman model

and incorporating the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis of nanoparticles. They
found that the critical thermal Rayleigh number can be reduced or increased by a substantial
amount, depending on whether the basic nanoparticle distribution is top-heavy or bottom-
heavy by the presence of the nanoparticles. The same Horton–Rogers–Lapwood Problem was
investigated by Nield and Kuznetsov (2009) for the Darcy Model. Agarwal and Bhadauria
(2010) studied thermal instability in a rotating porous layer saturated by a nanofluid for
top-heavy and bottom-heavy suspension considering Darcy Model. These studies dealt with
thermal equilibrium condition between fluid-particle phases and fluid-solid matrix phases.
However, here we need to recollect that thermal lagging between the particle and fluid phases
has been proposed by Vadasz (2005, 2006) as an explanation for the observed increase in
the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Due to applications of nanofluids and porous media
theory in drying, freezing of foods, and applications in everyday technology such as micro-
wave heating, rapid heat transfer from computer chips via use of porous metal foams and
their use in heat pipes, study of LTNE turns important. Kuznetsov and Nield (2010b) and
Nield and Kuznetsov (2010) investigated the effect of LTNE on the onset of convection in a
nanofluid saturated porous medium and in a nanofluid layer. They found that in case of linear
non-oscillatory instability, the effect of LTNE can be significant for some circumstances but
remains insignificant for a typical dilute nanofluids.
Apart from the above studies on thermal instability in nanofluids, no other study is avail-
able, therefore, we intend to investigate this problem further. Assuming that the nanoparticles
being suspended in the nanofluid using either surfactant or surface charge technology, pre-
venting the agglomeration and deposition of these on the porous matrix. In this article, we
study the linear and non-linear thermal instability in a porous medium saturated by nanofluid
using Horton–Roger–Lapwood problem based on the Brinkman’s Model, considering LTNE
between the fluid/particle and fluid/solid-matrix interphases.

2 Governing Equations

We consider a porous layer saturated by a nanofluid, confined between two horizontal bound-
aries at z = 0 and z = d, heated from below and cooled from above. The boundaries are imper-
meable and perfectly thermally conducting. The porous layer is extended infinitely in x and
y-directions, and z-axis is taken vertically upward with the origin at the lower boundary. The
LTNE between the fluid and solid-matrix and fluid and particle phase have been considered,
thus heat flow has been described using three temperature model. Th and Tc are temperature
at the lower and upper walls, respectively, the former being greater. The conservation equa-
tions for the total mass, momentum, thermal energy in the fluid phase, thermal energy in the
particle phase, thermal energy in the solid-matrix phase, and nanoparticles, come out to be as
below. A detailed derivation of these has been dealt by Buongiorno (2006), Tzou (2008a, b)
Nield and Kuznetsov (2009), and Kuznetsov and Nield (2010b);
∇ · vD = 0 (1)
μ  
0 = −∇p + μ̄∇ v − vD + φρp + (1 − φ){ρ(1 − β(Tf − Tc ))} g
2
(2)
K
 
∂ Tf 1
ε(1 − φ0 )(ρc)f + vD · ∇Tf = ε(1 − φ0 )kf ∇ 2 Tf + ε(1 − φ0 )(ρc)p
∂t ε
 
∇Tf · ∇Tf
× DB ∇φ · ∇Tf + DT + h fp (Tp − Tf ) + h fs (Ts − Tf ) (3)
Tf

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 111

 
∂ Tp 1
εφ0 (ρc)p + vD · ∇Tp = εφ0 kp ∇ 2 Tp + h fp (Tf − Tp ) (4)
∂t ε
∂ Ts
(1 − ε)(ρc)s = (1 − ε)ks ∇ 2 Ts + h fs (Tf − Ts ) (5)
∂t
∂φ 1 DT 2
+ vD · ∇φ = DB ∇ 2 φ + ∇ Tf (6)
∂t ε Tc

where vD = (u, v, w) is the Darcy velocity. In these equations, ρ is the fluid density, K is
porosity, (ρc)f , (ρc)p , (ρc)s the effective heat capacities, and kf , kp , ks , the effective ther-
mal conductivities of the fluid, particle, and solid phases respectively. DB and DT denote
the Brownian diffusion coefficient and thermophoretic diffusion, respectively. The interface
heat transfer coefficients between the fluid/particle phases and the fluid/solid-matrix phases
have been designated by h fp and h fs , namely. We assume the flow to be slow to neglect an
advective term and a Forchheimer quadratic drag term from the momentum equation. In the
above equations, both Brownian transport and thermophoresis coefficients are taken to be
time independent, in tune with the recent studies that neglect the effect of thermal transport
attributed to the small size of the nanoparticles [as per recent arguments by Keblinski and
Cahil (2005)]. Further, Thermophoresis and Brownian transport coefficients are assumed
to be temperature-independent due to the fact that the temperature ranges under consider-
ation are not far away from the critical value, and the volume averages over a representative
elementary volume.
Assuming the temperature and volumetric fraction of the nanoparticles to be constant at
the boundaries, and that LTNE is present there, we get the boundary conditions to be

v = 0, Tf = Th , Tp = Th , Ts = Th , φ = φ1 at z = 0, (7)
v = 0, T = Tc , Tp = Tc , Ts = Tc , φ = φ0 at z = d. (8)

where φ1 is greater than φ0 . To non-dimensionalize the variables, we write

(x ∗ , y ∗ , z ∗ ) = (x, y, z)/d, (u ∗ , v ∗ , w ∗ ) = (u, v, w)d/αf , t ∗ = tα f /d 2 , p ∗ = pK /μαf ,

φ − φ0 Tf − Tc Tp − Tc Ts − Tc
φ∗ = , Tf∗ = , Tp∗ = , Ts∗ =
φ1 − φ0 Th − Tc Th − Tc Th − Tc
kf
where αf = (ρc)f . Then Eqs. 1–8 take the form (after dropping the asterisk)

∇ ·v=0 (9)
0 = −∇p + Da∇ 2 v − v − Rm eˆz + RaT eˆz − Rnφ eˆz (10)
∂ Tf v NB NA NB
+ · ∇Tf = ∇ 2 Tf + ∇φ · ∇Tf + ∇Tf · ∇Tf
∂t ε Le Le
+NHP (Tp − Tf ) + NHS (Ts − Tf ) (11)
∂ Tp v
+ · ∇Tp = εp ∇ 2 Tp + γp NHP (Tf − Tp ) (12)
∂t ε
∂ Ts
= εs ∇ 2 Ts + NHS (Tf − Ts ) (13)
∂t
∂φ 1 1 2 NA 2
+ v · ∇φ = ∇ φ+ ∇ Tf (14)
∂t ε Le Le
v = 0, Tf = 1, Tp = 1, Ts = 1, φ = 1 at z = 0, (15)
v = 0, Tf = 0, Tp = 0, Ts = 0, φ = 0 at z = 1. (16)

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112 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

μ̄K
Here Da = μd 2
is the Darcy’s number,
αf
Le = is the Lewis number,
DB
ρgβ K d(Th − Tc )
Ra = is the Rayleigh − −Darcy number,
μαf
[ρ p φ0 + ρ(1 − φ0 )]gK d
Rm = is the basic density Rayleigh number,
μαf
(ρp − ρ)(φ1 − φ0 )gK d
Rn = is the concentration Rayleigh number,
μαf
ε(ρc)p (φ1 − φ0 )
NB = is the modified particle density increment,
(ρc)f
DT (Th − Tc )
NA = is the modified diffusivity ratio which is similar
DB Tc (φ1 − φ0 )
to the Soret parameter that arises in cross diffusion in thermal instability.
h fp d 2 h fs d 2
NHP = , NHS =
ε(1 − φ0 )kf ε(1 − φ0 )kf
are the interface heat transfer parameters called as Nield number by Vadasz (2006).
(1 − φ0 ) (ρc)f ε(1 − φ0 ) (ρc)f
γp = , γs =
φ0 (ρc)p (1 − ε) (ρc)s
are modified thermal capacity ratios.
kp /(ρc)p ks /(ρc)s
εp = , εs =
kf /(ρc)f kf /(ρc)f
are modified thermal diffusivity ratios.

3 Basic Solution

At the basic state, the nanofluid is assumed to be at rest, therefore, the quantities at the basic
state will vary only in the z-direction, and will be given by
v = 0, p = pb (z), Tf = Tfb (z), Tp = Tpb (z), Ts = Tsb (z), φ = φb (z) (17)
Substituting Eq. 17 in Eqs. 11–14 to obtain
 
d2 Tfb N B dφb dTfb N A N B dTfb 2
+ + + NHP (Tp − Tf ) + NHS (Ts − Tf ) = 0 (18)
dz 2 Le dz dz Le dz
d2 Tpb
εp + γp NHP (Tf − Tp ) = 0 (19)
dz 2
d2 Tsb
εs + γs NHS (Tf − Ts ) = 0 (20)
dz 2
d2 φb d2 Tfb
+ N A =0 (21)
dz 2 dz 2
and using order magnitude analysis, (Kuznetsov and Nield 2010b) we get:

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 113

d2 Tpb d2 Tfb d2 Tsb d2 φ b

= 0, = 0, = 0, = 0, (22)
dz 2 dz 2 dz 2 dz 2
The boundary conditions for solving Eq. 22 can be obtained from Eq. 15 and 16 as:
Tfb = Tpb = Tsb = 1, φb = 1, at z = 0, (23)
Tfb = Tpb = Tsb = 0, φb = 0, at z = 1. (24)
The remaining solution pb (z) at the basic state can easily be obtained by substituting
Tfb , Tpb , Tsb from Eq. 22, and then integrating Eq. 10 for pb . Solving Eq. 22, subject to
conditions (23) and (24), we obtain:
Tfb = Tpb = Tsb = 1 − z (25)
φb = 1 − z. (26)

4 Stability Analysis

To perturb the basic state of the system, we write

v = v , p = pb + p  , Tf = Tfb + Tf ,
Tp = Tpb + Tp , Ts = Tsb + Ts , φ = φb + φ  . (27)
Substituting the above expression (27) in Eqs. 9–14, and using the expressions (25) and (26),
eliminating the pressure and introducing the stream function, to obtain equations correspond-
ing to two dimensional rolls with all physical quantities independent of y, as
 
∂ψ ∂ 2φ ∂ 2 Tf
(Da∇ 2 − 1)∇ 2 − = Rn 2 − Ra 2 (28)
∂x ∂x ∂x
 
∂ Tf 1 ∂ψ 1 ∂ (ψ, Tf )
+ = ∇ 2 Tf + NHP (Tp − Tf ) + NHS (Ts − Tf ) + (29)
∂t ε ∂t ε ∂(x, z)
 
∂ Tp 1 ∂ψ 1 ∂(ψ, Tp )
+ = εp ∇ 2 Tp + γp NHP (Tf − Tp ) + (30)
∂t ε ∂t ε ∂(x, z)
∂ Ts
= εs ∇ 2 Ts + γs NHS (Tf − Ts ) (31)
∂t  
∂φ 1 ∂ψ 1 2 NA 2 1 ∂(ψ, φ)
+ = ∇ φ+ ∇ Tf + (32)
∂t ε ∂t Le Le ε ∂(x, z)
The Eqs. 28–32 are subject to stress-free, isothermal, iso-nanoconcentration boundary con-
ditions:
∂ 2ψ
ψ= = Tf = Tp = Ts = φ = 0, at z = 0, 1 (33)
∂z 2
The linear stability analysis is well studied and reported by Kuznetsov and Nield (2010a).
The critical Rayleigh numbers for stationary mode of convection is given by
  
ε
Rn Leα 2 ε δ 2+γ N
p p HP
Ra st = δ 2 1 + Daδ 2 +
αc2 δ2 ε εp δ 2 + (1 + γp )NHP

2
γp (NHP )2 γs (NHS )2
× δ + NHP + NHS − − − Rn N A (34)
εp δ 2 + γp NHP εs δ 2 + γs NHS

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114 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

where δ 2 = π 2 + α 2 .
To perform a nonlinear stability analysis, we take the modes (1,1) for stream function,
and (0,2) and (1,1) for temperature and nanoparticle concentration, respectively, in Fourier
series expression, we have

ψ = A11 (t)sin(αx)sin(π z) (35)

Tf = B11 (t)cos(παx)sin(π z) + B02 (t)sin(2π z) (36)

Tp = C11 (t)cos(παx)sin(π z) + C02 (t)sin(2π z) (37)

Ts = D11 (t)cos(παx)sin(π z) + D02 (t)sin(2π z) (38)

φ = E 11 (t)cos(παx)sin(π z) + E 02 (t)sin(2π z) (39)

where the coefficients A11 (t), B11 (t), B02 (t), C11 (t), C02 (t), D11 , D02 , E 11 , and E 02 are
functions of time. Substituting Eqs. 35–39 in Eqs. 28–32, and using the orthogonality con-
dition with the eigenfunctions associated with the considered minimal model, we get

(Rn E 11 (t) − Ra B11 (t))α 2

A11 (t) = (40)
α(δ 4 Da + δ 2 )
dB11 (t)
= NHP (C11 (t) − B11 (t)) + NHS (D11 (t) − B11 (t)) − δ 2 B11 (t)
dt
α A11 (t) πα
− − A11 (t)B02 (t) (41)
ε ε
dB02 (t) 1  πα
= A11 (t)B11 (t) − 8π 2 B02 (t) + 2NHP (C02 (t) − B02 (t))
dt 2 ε
+2NHS (D02 (t) − B02 (t))] (42)
dC11 (t) α A11 (t)
= γp NHP (B11 (t) − C02 (t)) − − εp C11 (t)δ 2 − πα A11 (t)C02 (t) (43)
dt ε
dC02 (t) 1  πα 
= A11 (t)C11 (t) − 8π 2 εp C02 (t) + 2γp NHP (B02 (t) − C02 (t)) (44)
dt 2 ε
dD11 (t)
= γs NHS (B11 (t) − D11 (t)) − εs δ 2 D11 (t) (45)
dt
dD02 (t)
= γs NHS (B02 (t) − D02 (t)) − 4π 2 εs D02 (t) (46)
dt
dE 11 (t) α A11 (t) δ2 N A δ2 πα
= − E 11 (t) − B11 (t) − A11 (t)E 02 (t) (47)
dt ε Le Le ε
 2 
dE 02 (t) 4π πα
=− (E 02 (t) − N A B02 (t)) − A11 (t)E 11 (t) (48)
dt Le ε

The above system of simultaneous autonomous ordinary differential equations will be solved
numerically using Runge–Kutta–Gill method.

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 115

5 Heat and Nanoparticle Concentration Transport

We define the thermal Nusselt number N u f (t) for fluid phase as

Heat transport by (conduction + convection)
N u f (t) =
Heat transport by conduction
⎡  2π/α   ⎤
c ∂ Tf
0 ∂z dx
⎣
= 1+    ⎦ (49)
2π/αc ∂ Tb
0 ∂z dx z=0

Substituting the expressions (25) and (36) in Eq. 49, we get

N u f (t) = 1 − 2π B02 (t). (50)
The thermal Nusselt numbers for particle and solid-matrix phases, nanoparticle concentra-
tion Nusselt number, N u φ (t) can also be defined similar to the thermal Nusselt number for
fluids, and can be obtained as:
N u p (t) = 1 − 2πC02 (t) (51)
N u s (t) = 1 − 2π D02 (t) (52)
N u φ (t) = (1 − 2π E 02 (t)) + N A (1 − 2π B02 (t)). (53)

6 Results and Discussion

6.1 Linear Stability Analysis

The expression for stationary convection in (34), is

  
ε
Rn Leα 2 εp δ 2 + γp NHP
Ra =
st
δ 1 + Daδ +
2 2

αc2 δ2 ε εp δ 2 + 1 + γp NHP

2
γp (NHP )2 γs (NHS )2
× δ + NHP + NHS − − − Rn N A (54)
εp δ 2 + γp NHP εs δ 2 + γs NHS

For thermal equilibrium system, we have NHS = NHP = 0, thus we get

ε[1 + Daδ 2 ]δ 4
Ra st = Rn(Le − N A ) + , (55)
α2
which is similar to the result obtained by Kuznetsov and Nield (2010a).
In case of ordinary fluid, Le = N A = 0, NHP = 0 and εs = 1. Putting these in the Eq. 54,
we obtain
   
ε  4  NHS
Ra =
st
δ (1 + Daδ ) 1 + 2
2
(56)
αc2 δ + γs NHS
This result is in agreement with the result obtained by Malashetty et al. (2005a) in their work
with ordinary fluids under LTNE conditions. For LTE, in the above case NHS = 0, so we
get
 
ε  4 
Ra st = δ (1 + Daδ 2 ) (57)
αc2

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116 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

which is a well known result for an ordinary fluid flowing through porous medium. When
Da = 0, the minimum is attained at α = π, with the minimum value becoming 4π 2 . On
the other√hand, when Da is very large in comparison with unity, the minimum is attained at
α = π/ 2, and the value becomes 27π 4 /4.
In Fig. 1a–k, we present neutral stability curves for Ra st versus the wavenumber α for
the fixed values of Rn, Le, N A , Da, ε, εp , εs , γp , γs , NHP , and NHS with variation in one of
these parameters. In all these plots, it is interesting to note that the value of Ra starts from a
higher note, falls rapidly with increasing α, and then increases steadily. The Fig. 1c, i, and
j correspond to the variation of Ra with respect to α at different values of modified diffu-
sivity ratio N A , modified thermal capacity ratio γs , and inter phase heat transfer parameter
NHP . These plots reveal that on increasing the value of these parameters, the value of Ra
tends to decrease, i.e., the system tends to remain unstable. In all the other plots, depicting
the variation of Ra with α for Rn, Le, Da, ε, εp , εs , γp , and NHS , we conclude that these
parameters have a stabilizing effect on the system as, when we consider higher values of
these parameters, the value of Racr increases.
In the Fig. 2, we draw the neutral stability curve for LTNE and LTE. We see that the value
of Rayleigh number Ra is less in case of LTNE than LTE. This implies that convection starts
earlier in the case of LTNE than LTE. The observed phenomenon may be attributed to the fact
that because of temperature difference between the fluid, particle and solid matrix phases,
there occurs transfer of energy between them. This leads to a chaotic state and enhances the
onset of convection in case of LTNE.
In the Fig. 3, we compare the Rayleigh number Ra for nanofluids with ordinary fluids.
It is to be noted that the value of Rayleigh number is less in the case of ordinary fluid than
nanofluid, or to say convection sets in earlier in ordinary fluids than nanofluids. This implies
that the thermal conductivity of nanofluids is higher than ordinary fluids.
The nature of critical values of Rayleigh number Ra and the critical values of wave number
α as functions of inter phase heat transfer parameters or Nield numbers for fluid/nanoparti-
cle inter phase, NHP , and fluid/solid-matrix inter phase NHS , for Rn = 4, Le = 10, N A =
4, Da = 0.01, ε = 0.04, εP = 0.4, εS = 0.7, γP = 5, γS = 5, with a variation in the value
of one of these parameters, are shown in Figs. 4, 5 and Figs. 6, 7, respectively. For very small
and large values of NHP and NHS , we observe that the stability criterion is independent of
their value, and that the value of NHP and NHS play a significant role in the stability criterion
only in the intermediate range. The reason behind this state being, that at NHP → 0 and
NHS → 0, there occurs almost zero heat transfer between fluid/nanoparticle and fluid/solid-
matrix inter phases, and the properties of nanoparticle or solid-matrix do not interfere in the
onset of convection. While, when NHP → ∞ and NHS → ∞, the three have almost the equal
temperatures and behave as a single phase. Between these two extremes, a LTNE effect is
observed being attributed to NHP and NHS .
Figure 4 presents the variation of critical Rayleigh number Racr with Nield number for
the fluid/solid-matrix inter phase NHS for different parameters. The figures indicate that the
value of Racr increases from its LTE value for very small NHS to LTNE value for large NHS .
The system tends to stabilize for the intermediate values of NHS . The effect of the parameters,
concentration Rayleigh number Rn, Lewis number Le, Darcy number Da, porosity ε, mod-
ified thermal diffusivity ratios εP , εS and modified thermal capacity ratio γp , on the system
is to increase the value of the critical Rayleigh number Racr as their values increase, thus
preventing the system from destabilization. While on increasing the value of other param-
eters, modified diffusivity ratio N A , Nield number for the fluid/particle inter phase NHP
and modified thermal capacity ratio γs , the value of Racr falls trending the system towards
destabilization. Thus, the effect of these parameters is to reduce the stabilizing effect of the

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 117

(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

(g) (h) (i)

(j) (k)

Fig. 1 Neutral stability curves for different values of a Rn, b Le, c N A , d Da, e ε, f ε P , g ε S , h γ P , i γ S ,
j NHP , and k NHS

inter-phase heat transfer coefficient. Also from Figs. 4g and i, we conclude that for small
NHS the Racr remains independent of γs and εS , and their effect enters the scenario only for
large values of NHS .
Figure 5 envisages the effect of NHS on the value of critical wavenumber αc . We observe
that value of critical wavenumber αc increases with increasing NHS from LTE value when
NHS is small, to its maximum LTNE value for intermediate NHS , and finally bounces back to
its LTE value for large NHS . This implies that the value of critical wavenumber αc approaches
to its LTE value when NHS → 0 and NHS → ∞. For the parameters, Rn, Le, γp , εp , εs and
NHP , as we increase the value of these the maximum value of αc also increases. While for
Da, ε and γs , an increase in their value decreases the minimum value of αc . Also from Fig. 5g
and i, we conclude that αc remains independent of the values of γs and εS for small and large
values of NHS and they have a significant effect only for intermediate values of NHS .

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118 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

Fig. 2 Comparison of the value of Rayleigh number Ra for LTNE and LTE

Fig. 3 Comparison of the value of Rayleigh number Ra for Nanofluid with Ordinary fluid

In Fig. 6, we present the variation of critical Rayleigh number Racr with Nield number for
the fluid/particle inter phase NHP for different parameters. The trend observed in the figures
is just opposite to that observed for Nield number for the fluid/particle inter phase NHS . The
figure indicates that the value of Racr decreases from its LTE value for very small NHP to
LTNE value for large NHP . The system tends to destabilize for the intermediate values of
NHP . The effect of the parameters concentration Rayleigh number Rn, Lewis number Le,
Darcy number Da, porosity ε, modified thermal diffusivity ratios εP , εS and Nield number
for fluid/solid-matrix inter phase NHS , on the system is to inhibit the decrease in the value of
the critical Rayleigh number Racr , thus preventing the system from destabilization. While on
increasing the values of, modified diffusivity ratio N A and modified thermal capacity ratio
γs , the value of Racr falls further trending the system towards destabilization.

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 119

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 4 Variation of critical Rayleigh number Racr with NHS for different values of a Rn, b Le, c N A , d γ P ,
e γ S , f ε P , g ε S , and h NHP

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120 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 5 Variation of critical wavenumber αc with NHS for different values of a Rn, b Le, c N A , d γ P , e γ S ,
f ε P , g ε S , and h NHP

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 121

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 6 Variation of critical Rayleigh number Racr with NHP for different values of a Rn, b Le, c N A ,
d Da, e γ S , f ε P , g ε S and h NHS

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122 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 7 Variation of critical wavenumber αc with NHP for different values of a Rn, b Le, c N A ,
d Da, e γ S , f ε P , g ε S , and h NHS

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 123

(a) (b)

Fig. 8 Variation of a critical Rayleigh number, Racr , b critical wave number αc with concentration Rayleigh
number, Rn, for different values of Le, N A , and Da

In the Fig. 7, we have exhibited the critical wavenumber αc as a function of NHP . We

observe that the value of critical wavenumber αc decreases with increasing NHP from LTE
value when NHP is small, to its minimum LTNE value for intermediate NHP , and finally
bounces back to its LTE value for large NHP . This implies that the value of critical wavenum-
ber αc approaches to its LTE value when NHP → 0 and NHP → ∞. This is quite obvious as
the corresponding physical situation are anonymous. At NHP → 0, the particle phase does
not interfere with the thermal field of the fluid, which is free to act independently, while as
NHP → ∞, the particle/fluid phases have attained the identical temperatures, and behave
as single phase only. We conclude that as time passes, and heat intensifies, the nanofluids
behave more like a single phase fluid rather than like a conventional solid–liquid mixture.
For the parameters, Rn, Le, N A , and ε, we see that an increase in their values has effect on
the critical value of wave number αc only when NHP → 0 and NHP → ∞. For intermedi-
ate values of NHP , i.e., when αc falls to its minimum LTNE value, the value of αc remains
independent of these parameters. However, for Da, γs and NHS , as we increase their value,
minimum value of αc decreases, whereas, an increase in the values of εp and εs , increases the
minimum value of αc . Also from Figs. 6g and 7g, we see that the values of critical Rayleigh
number Racr and critical wavenumber αc are independent of the value of modified thermal
diffusivity ratio εp for small NHP .
In Fig. 8a and b, the variation of critical thermal Rayleigh number Racr for stationary con-
vection and the corresponding critical wave number αc with the nanoparticle concentration
Rayleigh number Rn is depicted. From Fig. 8a, it is worth noting that for small values of
Rn, we have small values of Racr which increases on increasing nanoparticle concentration
Rayleigh number. Similarly, from Fig. 8b we make out that the corresponding critical wave
number is also small for small Rn and increases with increasing Rn.
In Fig. 8a, we observe that on increasing the values of Rayleigh–Darcy number Da and
Lewis number Le, the value of Racr increases, while on increasing the value of modified
diffusivity ratio N A , the Racr decreases. From Fig. 8b, it is to be noted that with an increase
in the value of Lewis number Le, value of critical wave number αc increases, while with
an increase in Rayleigh–Darcy number Da, it decreases. However, for modified diffusivity
ratio N A , there seems to be no effect on the value of critical wave number αc .
Figure 9a and b display the variation of critical thermal Rayleigh number Racr and the cor-
responding critical wave number αc with the nanofluid Lewis number Le. It is to be observed

123
124 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

(a) (b)

Fig. 9 Variation of a critical Rayleigh number, Racr , b critical wave number αc with Lewis number, Le, for
different values of Rn, N A , and Da

from Fig. 9a that for small values of Le, we have smaller values of Racr which increase with
increasing nanofluid Lewis number Le. Similar trend is also observed for the corresponding
critical wave number in Fig. 9b.
It is to be noted in these figures that on increasing concentration Rayleigh number Rn,
value of critical Rayleigh number Racr as well as critical wave number αc increases. How-
ever, for Darcy number Da, the value of Racr increases while αc decreases. With an increase
in modified diffusivity ratio N A , Racr is seen to decrease, but no effect of it is observed on
the value of critical wave number αc .

6.2 Non-Linear Unsteady Stability Analysis

The linear solutions exhibit a considerable variety of behavior of the system, and the tran-
sition from linear to non-linear convection can be quite complicated, but interesting to deal
with. We need to study the time dependent results to analyze the same. This transition can be
well understood by the analysis of (40–48) whose solutions give a detailed description of the
two-dimensional problem. We solve the Eqs. 40–48 numerically, using Runge–Kutta–Gill
Method, and calculate various Nusselt numbers as function of time t.
The nature of Nusselt numbers, N u φ , N u(fluid), N u(particle) and N u(solid-matrix), as a
function of time t, for Rn = 4, Le = 10, N A = 4, Ra = 28, Da = 0.02, ε = 0.04, NHP =
0.001, NHS = 10, γp = 5, γs = 5, εp = 0.4, and εs = 0.7 with a variation in the value
of one of these parameters, is shown in Figs. 10, 11, 12, and 13, respectively. These figures
indicate that initially, when time is small, there occurs large scale oscillations in the values of
N u φ , N u(fluid),N u(particle) and N u(solid-matrix), indicating an unsteady rate of mass and
heat transfer in the fluid, particle and solid-matrix phases. As time passes by, these values
approach to steady state, corresponding to a near conduction instead of convection stage.
In the Fig. 10, the transient nature of concentration Nusselt number or Sherwood num-
ber(as some researchers name it) is visible. We can observe that the effect of increasing the
value of modified thermal capacity ratio γs , on the amplitude of oscillations is to increase
it, i.e., an increase in the value of the parameter brings about an increase in the rate of mass
transfer across the porous medium layer. While an increase in the value of porosity Nield
number for fluid/particle interphase NHP is to decrease the rate of mass transfer.
Figure 11 depicts the transient nature of Nusselt number for the fluid phase. There occurs
large amount of heat transfer in the fluid phase initially, and with large time the amount of

123
Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 125

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 10 Variation of Concentration Nusselt Number N u φ with time t for different values of a Rn, b Le,
c NHP , d NHS , e γ P , f γ S , g ε P , and h ε S

123
126 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 11 Variation of Nusselt Number N u(fluid) with time t for different values of a Rn, bLe, c NHP ,
d NHS , e γ P , f γ S , g ε P , and h ε S

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 127

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 12 Variation of Nusselt Number N u(particle) with time t for different values of a Rn, b Le, c NHP ,
d NHS , e γ P , f γ S , g ε P , and h ε S

123
128 B. S. Bhadauria, S. Agarwal

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Fig. 13 Variation of Nusselt Number N u(solid-matrix) with time t for different values of a Rn, b Le, c NHP ,
d NHS , e γ P , f γ S , g NHP , ε P , and h ε S

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Convective Transport in a Nanofluid Saturated Porous Layer 129

heat transfer approaches a near constant value. The effect of increasing porosity on the heat
transfer in fluid phase is to decrease the amount of heat transfer.
The transient nature of Nusselt number for particle phase has been shown in Fig. 12. We
see that the amplitude of heat transfer in particle phase is small initially, but increases rapidly
with time t to approach to a steady value for large values of time t. The effect of various
parameters is also well pronounced for N u(particle) as compared to other phases. We can see
that the effect of increasing the values of concentration Rayleigh number Rn, Nield number
for fluid/particle interphase NHP and modified thermal diffusivity ratio εp on the value of
Nusselt number N u is to decrease it, thus decreasing rate of heat transfer. While on increasing
the values of modified thermal capacity ratio γs , the rate of heat transferred is increased.
The Nusselt number for solid-matrix phase follows the trend demonstrated by its coun-
terparts, and shows an unsteady rate of heat transfer in solid-matrix phase initially, which
approaches to a constant value as time passes by. A comparative study of the Figs. 11, 12,
and 13, i.e., in the values of thermal Nusselt numbers for fluid, particle and solid-matrix
phases, reveals that the amplitude of heat transfer is maximum for the particle phase, indicat-
ing that the amount of heat transfer is maximum in nanoparticles then fluid or solid-matrix
phases. This gain of energy by the nanoparticles may be the possible cause of observed
enhanced thermal conductivity of nanofluids.

7 Conclusions

We considered linear stability analysis in a horizontal porous medium saturated by a nano-

fluid, heated from below and cooled from above, using Brinkman model which incorporates
the effect of Brownian motion along with thermophoresis, under non-equilibrium conditions.
Further bottom heavy suspension of nanoparticles has been considered. Linear analysis has
been made using normal mode technique, and the effect of various parameters on the onset
of thermal instability has been found.The results have been presented graphically. We draw
the following conclusions:

1. The effect of Rn, Le, Da, ε is to stabilize the system.

2. Convection sets in earlier for LTNE as compared to LTE.
3. The effect of time on Nusselt numbers is found to be oscillatory, when t is small. However
when time t becomes very large Nusselt number approaches the steady value.
4. On increasing the value of thermal Rayleigh number Ra, the rate of mass and heat transfer
is increased.
5. The effect of modified diffusivity ratio N A on the rate of mass transferred and heat trans-
ferred in particle phase is just opposite. While an increase in its value increases the rate
of mass transferred, it decreases the amount of heat transferred in the particle phase.

Acknowlegments Author Shilpi gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance from Banaras Hindu
University as a research fellowship.

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