JOURNAL OF THERMOPHYSICS AND HEAT TRANSFER

Vol. 26, No. 2, April–June 2012

Natural Convection in Fluid/Porous Region Heated

from Below with Conductive Partition

Jiin-Yuh Jang∗ and Wen-Cheng Chou†

National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan, Republic of China
and
Jin-Sheng Leu‡
Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaohsiung County 82042, Taiwan, Republic of China
DOI: 10.2514/1.T3660
A numerical study has been made of natural convection in an enclosure heated from below with a conductive
partition. The upper and lower regions are filled with pure fluid and a fluid-saturated porous medium, respectively.
Two-dimensional Navier–Stokes-equation and non-Darcian models (including inertia, boundary, and convective
effects) govern the fluid region and the porous region. The major parameters of the problem are fluid Rayleigh
number Ra, partition location height ratio (denoted HR), aspect ratio A, porosity ", conductivity ratio of the partition
to the fluid (denoted KR), and conductivity ratio of the fluid/porous matrix to the fluid ke =kf . The results indicate that
the partition location and thermal conductivity significantly influence the heat transfer rate. Lower HR (a thinner
porous region) and higher thermal conductivity ratio KR possess a higher heat transfer rate and intensify the
occurrence of the onset of convection. In addition, high porosity and high effective thermal conductivity in the porous
medium can increase the heat transfer rate. The increase of Nu is about 35
41%, with increase of ke =kf from 1–5 for
porosity ranging from 0.4–0.6.

Nomenclature W = partition thickness, m

A = aspect ratio, L=H X, Y = dimensionless x, y components, x=H and y=H,
C = inertial coefficient respectively
Da = Darcy number, K=H 2 x, y = x, y coordinates, m
H = height of the enclosure, m  = thermal diffusivity, m2 =s
HR = dimensionless height ratio of the partition,  = coefficient of thermal expansion, K1

H2  W=2=H " = porosity of porous medium
H1 = height of the viscous fluid region, m  = dimensionless temperature,
T  TL =
TH  TL 
H2 = height of the porous region, m  = dynamic viscosity of the fluid, kg=
m  s
h = heat transfer coefficient, W=
m2  K  = kinematic viscosity of the fluid, m2 =s
g = gravitational acceleration, m=s2
K = permeability of porous medium, m2
= density of the fluid, kg=m3
KR = thermal conductivity ratio of the partition to the fluid,
kw =kf Subscripts
k = thermal conductivity, W=
m  K
c = critical
ke = effective thermal conductivity of porous medium,
f = fluid
W=
m  K
p = porous medium
L = width of the enclosure, m
w = partition
P = dimensionless pressure, pH2 =
2
Prf = Prandtl number for fluid, =f
Prp = Prandtl number for porous medium, =e
p = pressure, Pa I. Introduction
Ra = Rayleigh number, g
TH  TC H3 = REE convection flow is driven by the buoyancy effect due to the
T
U, V
=
=
temperature, K
dimensionless x, y component velocities, uH=f and
F presence of gravitational acceleration and density variations
from one fluid layer to another. Heat transfer by free convection has a
vH=f , respectively wide range of applications in the scientific and engineering fields.
u, v = x, y component velocities , m=s Natural convection in enclosures filled either with a fluid or a fluid-
jVj = absolute velocity,
u2  v2 1=2 saturated porous medium has been fueled by applications to many


jVj = dimensionless absolute velocity,
U2  V 2 1=2  real-life situations, such as thermal insulation engineering, solar
jVj
H= technology, green building technology, electrochemical process, and
fuel cells. Among these earlier contributions, Yin et al. [1] experi-
Received 8 December 2010; revision received 9 April 2011; accepted for mentally investigated the heat transfer behavior of natural convection
publication 13 May 2011. Copyright © 2011 by the American Institute of in an air layer enclosed within a rectangular cavity. Patterson and
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. Copies of this paper Imberger [2] studied the unsteady natural convection in a cavity with
may be made for personal or internal use, on condition that the copier pay the an aspect ratio less than one. Ivey [3] further carried out experiments
$10.00 per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood
to verify the previously mentioned topic. Koutsoheras and Charters
Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; include the code 0887-8722/12 and $10.00 in
correspondence with the CCC.
[4] presented the two-dimensional convection flow and temperature
∗
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering (Corresponding fields in the rectangular enclosure submitted to a horizontal temper-
Author). ature gradient. Kim and Viskanta [5] studied the wall conductance
†
Department of Mechanical Engineering. effect on the flow and heat transfer of natural convection in an
‡
Department of Aircraft Engineering. inclined square cavity. Nield [6] first studied the onset of convection
367
368 JANG, CHOU, AND LEU

adiabatic adiabatic
flows using linear stability analysis for the horizontal porous layer TL
heated from below. Some further stability analyses for this config-
uration have been investigated by taking into account heterogeneities
(Rubin [7]), anisotropy of a porous medium (Malashetty [8]), or H1
inclined temperature and concentration gradients (Nield et al. [9]).
Further studies of natural convection in enclosures consisting of kf
multiple fluid layers or porous layers have been conducted to H kw W
understand the effect of inhomogeneity on heat transfer. There are
numerous industrial situations that require analyses of the interaction ke
g
between a fluid layer and a fluid-saturated porous medium, such as H2
porous bearing, porous heat pipe, and blood flow in the lungs or y
arteries. Two configurations have mainly been considered. The first porous
x
situation concerns the vertical configuration (horizontal temperature
TH
gradient). Tong and Subramanian [10] and Beckermann et al. [11]
analyzed natural convection in rectangular enclosures that are L
vertically divided into a region filled with a fluid and a region filled Fig. 1 Schematic of the physical model and coordinate system.
with a porous medium. Two regions are separated by an impermeable
wall [10] or a permeable interface [11] without thermal resistance.
Both vertical-side walls of the enclosure are heated and cooled, II. Mathematical Analysis
respectively. These studies [10,11] indicate that there are situations in The geometry and coordinate systems are shown in Fig. 1. The
which heat transfer could be minimized by partially filling, instead of overall dimensions of the rectangular enclosure are H and L. The
entirely filling, an enclosure with a porous medium. For the enclosure is fitted with a completely separated internal partition,
configuration of rectangular enclosures that are horizontally divided whose thickness is W. The upper and lower regions are filled with
into a region filled with a viscous fluid and a region filled with a fluid- fluid and fluid in a saturated porous medium, respectively. The ratio
saturated porous medium, with both vertical-side walls heated and of the porous portion to the height of the enclosure is expressed as
cooled, Nishimura et al. [12,13] experimentally and theoretically HR 
H2  W=2=H. The horizontal walls of the enclosure are
achieved the heat transfer correlation with a function of the porous kept isothermal at different temperatures (TH > TL ), while both
portion of the enclosure. Brinkman’s extension of Darcy’s law is vertical walls are adiabatic. The Navier–Stokes equation and non-
assumed to hold within the porous layer. Darcian models (inertia, boundary, and convective effects) are used
The other situation concerns the superimposed horizontal layers, for fluid motion of pure-fluid and porous regions. The thermo-
submitted to a vertical temperature gradient. The main interest is to physical properties of the fluid are assumed constant, except for the
compare the stability results with the well-known critical Rayleigh density in the buoyancy term (Boussinesq approximation). The fluid-
numbers for Rayleigh–Benards convection in fluid or porous layers. saturated porous medium is assumed to be macroscopically isotro-
Somerton and Catton [14] presented the analytical prediction of the pic, homogeneous, and in local thermal equilibrium. The heat flow
onset of convection for a system consisting of both a fluid layer and a through the horizontal partition is a two-dimensional conduction
fluid-saturated porous medium. Jang and Chen [15] studied the mode. With the preceding assumptions, the equations governing the
natural convection in an inclined porous enclosure with an off-center conservation of mass, momentum, and energy for both fluid and
diathermal partition. It was found that the partition location has a porous regions may be written as follows:
strong influence on the heat transfer rate at low Ra, and the maximum Fluid region, continuity equation:
Nusselt number occurs around inclined angle 30 . Gobin et al. [16]
further dealt with the simulation of double diffusive convective flows @uf @vf
 0 (1)
for the preceding system. Catton and Lienhard [17] analyzed the @x @y
thermal stability of two horizontal fluid layers separated by an
interlayer of finite thermal conductivity. Jang and Tsai [18] studied Fluid region, momentum equation:
the corresponding problem in two horizontal porous medium layers

2 
with a conductive partition. The results show that stability limits are @uf @uf @p @ uf @2 uf

uf  vf    (2)
dependent on the partition thickness and its thermal conductivity. @x @y @x @x2 @y2
Carr and Straughan [19] presented an accurate numerical calculation
for the onset of thermal convection in a two-layer system composed

2 
@vf @vf @p @ vf @2 vf
of a layer of porous material, over which lies a layer of water near
uf  vf   
4 C. Shaw et al. [20] investigated the natural convection flow in a @x @y @y @x2 @y2
rectangular enclosure heated from below, fitted with a completely 
g
Tf  TL  (3)
separated horizontal conductive partition. Jang and Wu [21] studied
the natural convection in a porous enclosure heated from below with Fluid region, energy equation:
a conductive horizontal partition.
2 
In all previous studies, natural convection in an enclosure heated @Tf @Tf @ Tf @2 Tf
uf  vf  f  (4)
from below, horizontally divided into fluid and porous regions by @x @y @x2 @y2
fitting with a completely horizontal conductive partition, seems not
to have been studied. This has motivated the present investigation. Porous region, momentum equation:
The upper and lower regions are separately filled with one pure fluid

and one fluid-saturated porous layer. The two-dimensional Navier–
@up @up 
up  v   up 
CjVjup
Stokes equation governs the fluid motion in the fluid region, while "2 @x @y K
non-Darcian models such as inertia, boundary, and convective effects

 @2 up @2 up @p
are included to describe the momentum transport of the porous    (5)
" @x2 @y2 @x
region. This study focuses on the effects of the partition location and
the thermal conductivity and porous materials properties on the

natural convection phenomenon in a rectangular enclosure.
@vp @vp 
Parametric analyses concerning the effects of the location of the u p  v   vp 
CjVjvp
"2 @x @y K
partition (HR), conductivity ratio of the partition (KR  kw =kf ),

aspect ratio A, and Rayleigh number (Ra) on the fluid flow and heat  @2 vp @2 vp @p
  2  
g
Tp  TL  (6)
transfer rate in the enclosure are carried out in detail. " @x2 @y @y
 JANG, CHOU, AND LEU 369


Porous region, energy equation: 1 @Up @Up Prf
U p  V p 
VjU
U  Cj
p

2  "2 @X @Y Da p
@Tp @Tp @ Tp @2 Tp

up  vp  p  (7) Prf @2 Up @2 Up @P
@x @y @x2 @y2    (17)
" @X 2 @Y 2 @X
where " is the porosity and p is the effective thermal diffusivity. K
and C are the permeability and inertia coefficients of the porous

medium, respectively, which can be determined from the widely 1 @Vp @Vp Prf
VjV
U  V  V  Cj
p
known correlations K  d2 "3 =150
1  "2 and C  1:75
1  "= "2 p
@X p
@Y Da p
d"3 (proposed by Ergun [22]).

Porous region, corresponding boundary conditions on the Prf @2 Vp @2 Vp @P
    RaPrf p (18)
enclosure: " @X2 @Y 2 @Y

At y  0; Tp  TH ; up  vp  0 Porous region, energy equation:

At y  H; Tf  TL ; uf  vf  0

@p @p Prf @2 p @2 p
@Tp Up  Vp  2
 2
(19)
At x  0; L; and 0 < y < H2  0; up  vp  0 @X @Y Prp @X @Y
@x
@Tf Porous region, corresponding boundary conditions on the enclosure:
At x  0; L; and
H2  W < y < H  0;
@x
Y  0; p  1; U p  Vp  0
uf  vf  0 (8)
Y  1; f  0; U f  Vf  0
Conductive partition, energy equation and interfacial boundary @p
conditions: X  0; 1; for 0 < Y < H2 =H  0; U p  Vp  0
@X
@2 Tw @2 Tw @f
 0 (9) for
H2  W=H < Y < 1  0; Uf  Vf  0 (20)
@x 2 @y2 @X
Conductive partition, energy equation and interfacial boundary
@T @Tf conditions:
At y 
H2  W; Tw  Tf ; kw w  kf (10)
@y @y @2 w
@2 w
 0 (21)
@X 2 @Y 2
@Tw @Tp  
At y  H2 ; Tw  Tp ; kw  ke (11) @w  @ 
@y @y Y 
H2  W=H; w  f ; KR 
@Y wall @Y fluid
Equations (10) and (11) represent the condition of continuity of the (22)
temperature and heat flux on the partition surfaces. The conservation
equations can be recast into dimensionless forms by adopting the  
@w  ke @ 
following dimensionless variables: Y  H2 =H; w  p ; KR  (23)
@Y wall kf @Y porous
x y pH 2 uH
X ; Y ; P U
H H
2  In Eqs. (13–23), Rayleigh number Ra  g
T  TL H3 =, Prandtl
vH T  TL number Prf  f =f , Prp  =p , Darcy number of the porous
V ; C
 CH  (12) medium Da  K=H2 , KR  kw =kf is the thermal conductivity ratio
 TH  TL
of the partition to the fluid, and ke is the effective thermal
conductivity of the porous medium. Meanwhile, no-slip condition
Then the dimensionless governing Eqs. (1–7) are as follows:
U  V  0 is valid at the upper and lower surfaces of the partition.
Fluid region, continuity equation:
Because both vertical walls are adiabatic, heat transfer occurs only in
@Vf the vertical direction. The heat transfer rate is expressed in the form of
@Uf
 0 (13) the average Nusselt number, which is the ratio of the actual heat
@X @Y transfer to the heat transfer by pure conduction:
Fluid region, momentum equation: Z L

H @

2  Nu  dX (24)
@Uf @Uf @P @ Uf @2 Uf 0 @Y Y0
Uf  Vf   Prf 2
 2
(14)
@X @Y @X @X @Y
III. Numerical Method

2 2
 Equations (13–19) and (21) are coupled, nonlinear elliptic partial
@Vf @Vf @P @ Vf @ Vf
Uf  Vf   Prf   RaPrf f differential equations. The conservation equations are integrated on
@X @Y @Y @X 2 @Y 2 the control volume defined by the computational grid. The
(15) discretization technique is well known and detailed description is
omitted; only the main characteristics are presented hereafter. The
Fluid region, energy equation: integral equations are discretized using a hybrid scheme. The linear
systems of discretization are solved by the alternating direction
@f @f @2 f @2 f implicit procedure. The pressure–velocity coupling is solved by the
Uf  Vf   2 (16)
@X @Y @X2 @Y SIMPLEC algorithm [23]. The boundary condition (20) is applied
along the enclosure boundaries combining the thermal matching
Porous region, momentum equation: conditions (22) and (23), which allow the partition surface
370 JANG, CHOU, AND LEU

3.2
dominated by conduction. When HR increases to 0.75 (Figs. 3c and
4c), an apparent circulation happens in the porous region. The heat
Shaw et al. [20] (ε=1.0)
convection mode dominates the heat transfer phenomenon. The
the present results (ε 1.0)
opposite situations happen in the fluid regions of the three cases. In
2.8 the case of HR  0:25, having a larger region, there exists stronger
flow circulation than in the other two cases. In summary, the region
space is going to dominate the flow circulation scale and strength,
thus affecting the heat transfer rate. The quantitative evaluation
Nu

2.4 relating the variation of the Nusselt number with the Rayleigh
number for different HR (HR  0:25, 0.5, and 0.75) at KR  1,

1.6
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
HR
Fig. 2 Comparison of the Nusselt number versus HR for the present
study (" ! 1:0) and Shaw et al. [20] ("  1:0) (Ra  105 , A  1,
W=H  0:1, and KR  10).

temperature to be determined in terms of neighboring points in the

three regions (fluid, porous, and partition).
The validation of the numerical code has been performed with the
special case of porosity of the porous region approaching one
(" ! 1), which was reported by Shaw et al. [20]. Figure 2 shows the
comparisons of the Nusselt number between the present numerical
results and those of Shaw et al. [20] with HR ranging from 0.1 to 0.9.
Nine cases were executed and achieved good agreement between the
present results (circle points) and Shaw et al. [20] (solid line) within a
maximum 4.7% discrepancy. These comparisons also confirm the
accuracy of the numerical computation. A careful check for the grid
independence of the numerical solutions has been performed to
ensure the accuracy and validity of the numerical results. For this
purpose, five grid systems (21
21, 29
29, 37
37, 45
45, and
51
51) were tested for specific parameters: "  0:4, KR  5,
A  1, and
ke =kf   0:5. The average Nusselt number for the five
grid systems are 10.12, 10.21, 10.27, 10.32, and 10.36. The relative
errors of the first four cases to the case of 51
51 are 2.31, 1.83, 0.87,
and 0.38%, respectively. Thus, the grid nodal points 37
37 (A  1)
up to 148
37 (A  4) were adopted to ensure independence of the
solution on the grid. For the case of A  1, a 15
37 subgrid system
is applied in each subenclosure and a 7
37 grid system in the
partition region. The convergence criterion for the present studies is
based on the average residue of the conservation equations on the
whole domain, and convergence is reached when the residue is less
than 104 .

IV. Results and Discussion

The present study mainly describes the local and overall flow and
heat transfer characteristics of natural convection in an enclosure
heated from below with a horizontal partition. Parametric studies
concerning the effects of the partition location HR, conductivity ratio
KR, Rayleigh number Ra, porous porosity ", thermal conductivity
ratio ke =kf , and aspect ratio of enclosure A on the fluid flow and
temperature fields in the enclosure are carried out. The relevant
numerical results are achieved in the range of 103 ≦ Ra ≦ 108 ,
0:25 ≦ HR ≦ 0:75, 1 ≦ KR ≦ 100, 0:5 ≦ ke =kf : ≦ 5, 1 ≦ A ≦ 4,
0:4 ≦ " ≦ 0:6 for Da  4:3
106, dimensionless partition thick-
ness W=H  1=13, and Prf  7:0 (water).
Figures 3 and 4 show the streamline and isotherm patterns in the
enclosure for three different partition locations (HR  0:25, 0.5, and
0.75) at Ra  5
107 (i.e., TH  40 C, TL  20 C, and
T  20 C), KR  1, A  1, and ke =kf  1:0. It is indicated that
the enclosure space dominates the heat transfer mode in the fluid and
porous regions. For the case of HR  0:25, the isotherms in the
smaller region are much more linear than those of the other two cases Fig. 3 Streamlines for different partition locations HR ("  0:4,
(HR  0:5 and 0.75). The heat transfer in the smaller porous region is Ra  5  107 , KR  1, A  1, and ke =kf  1).
 JANG, CHOU, AND LEU 371

HR=0.25
HR=0.50
3 HR=0.75 HR = 0.25

Nu
2 0.50

Rac =8.6x10 3

1 0.75

Rac =5.2x10 4 Rac =1.7x10 6

0
10 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 10 7 10 8
Ra
Fig. 5 Nu versus Ra for three different partition locations HR ("  0:4,
A  1, KR  1, and ke =kf  1).

the partition is achieved and yields a higher heat transfer rate. The
result shows that heat transfer enhancement is about 27% with KR
from 1 to 10. When KR continuously increases, the influence of KR
on the heat transfer rate is not significant because the reduction of
integral thermal resistance contributed to the partition is small.
The main purpose of the present study is to evaluate the porous
material characteristics on the flow and heat transfer rate while
porous material is filled in the lower region of the enclosure problem.
Parametric analyses are focused on the effects of effective thermal
conductivity ke and porosity " on the heat transfer rate, described
schematically in Figs. 7 and 8. Figure 7 shows the variation of Nu
with Ra for different thermal conductivity ratios (ke =kf  0:5, 1.0,
and 5.0) at HR  0:5, KR  1, and "  0:4. It is seen that the curve of
ke =kf  5:0 has higher values of Nu than the other two cases at
specific Ra. It is expected that higher porous thermal conductivity
can improve heat transfer performance of the porous medium region
and achieve higher Nu. In addition, increase of ke =kf will advance
the critical Rayleigh number Rac for the onset of convection. The
corresponding Rac for ke =kf  0:5, 1.0, and 5.0 are 5:4
106 ,
5:2
104 , and 1:7
104 , respectively. From the point of view of
industrial applications, well-chosen porous material will allow this
composite system to be a thermal insulator or conductor. For
example, for a specific Ra  107 , the value of Nu for ke =kf  5:0 is
1.5 and 2.4 times that for ke =kf  1:0 and 0.5. If a metallic porous
particle such as stainless steel (k  15 W=
m  K) is applied, the

Fig. 4 Isotherms for different partition locations HR ("  0:4,

Ra  5  107 , KR  1, A  1, and ke =kf  1).
3

ke =kf  1, A  1, and "  0:4 is shown in Fig. 5. As expected, an

increase in Ra will significantly increase the value of Nu. In addition,
for specific Ra, Nu increases with a decrease of HR. It is noted that 2
the critical Rayleigh number Rac, representing the onset of
Nu

convection, is defined as when the occurrence of Nu is increased from

1 (pure heat conduction) up to 1.01. For the studied case, the values of
Rac are 8:6
103 , 5:2
104 , and 1:7
106 for HR  0:25, 0.5, and
0.75, respectively. This means that the onset of convection occurs 1
more easily when the porous layer is thinner.
The effect of partition conductivity KR (KR  kw =kf ) on the heat
transfer rate is shown in Fig. 6. It is seen that Nu significantly
increases with KR for 1 < KR < 10 and finally reaches an asymp- 0
totic maximum. This means that the partition is one part of thermal 1 10 100
resistances for this composite system. As the partition conductivity KR
increases (increase of KR), thermal resistance due to partition is Fig. 6 Effects of different partition conductivity ratio KR on Nu
reduced. More uniform and higher-temperature distribution across ("  0:4, A  1, HR  0:5, ke =kf  1, and Ra  5  107 ).
372 JANG, CHOU, AND LEU

4 8

ke /kf =5.0
ε=0.6
ke /kf =1.0
ε=0.5
3 ke /kf =0.5 k e / k f = 5.0 ε=0.4
6 ε = 0.6
1.0

Nu
Nu

2
Rac =1.7x10 4 0.5

0.5 4
1 0.4

Rac =5.2x10 4 Rac =5.4x10 6

0 2
10 4 10 5 10 6 10 7 10 8 1 2 3 4 5
Ra ke / kf
Fig. 7 Nu versus Ra for three different ke =kf ("  0:4, A  1, Fig. 8 Nu versus ke =kf for three different " (A  1, HR  0:5, KR  1,
HR  0:5, and KR  1). and Ra  5  107 ).

value of ke =kf is about 15. More effective heat transfer enhancement
is expected. The coupled effects of porosity and the effective
conductivity of the porous medium on the heat transfer rate are
shown in Fig. 8. It can be concluded from Fig. 7 that the value of Nu is
increased with increase of ke =kf . In addition, a higher heat transfer
rate is achieved in a high-porosity porous medium. Looking closer,
the effect of effective conductivity on Nu is more pronounced for a
high-porosity porous medium. For example, for the curve of "  0:4,
the value of Nu is increased 13% with ke =kf from 1 to 5. Relatively, a
15% increase of Nu is achieved for the curve of "  0:6.
The geometric aspect ratio A is also an important parameter on the
flow and heat transfer rate for the enclosure problem. The streamlines
and isotherms for A  2 and 4 are illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. These
figures show that as A increases the number of cells increases
discretely. However, the scale of streamlines and isotherms for the
cases of A  2 and 4 are not significantly different from the case of
A  1 (Figs. 3b and 4b). It can be concluded that the effect of the
aspect ratio on the heat transfer rate is not significant. More clear
comparisons among the cases of three aspect ratios (A  1, 2, and 4)
at HR  0:5, KR  1, and ke =kf  1 are presented in Fig. 11. It can
be seen that Nu is slightly decreased as the value of A is increased.
However, the influence of the aspect ratio on the heat transfer rate is
not significant.

Fig. 9 Streamlines for aspect ratio A  2 and 4, respectively ("  0:4, HR  0:5, KR  1, ke =kf  1, and Ra  5  107 ).
 JANG, CHOU, AND LEU
Fig. 10 Isotherms for aspect ratio A  2 and 4, respectively ("  0:4, HR  0:5, KR  1, ke =kf  1, and Ra  5  107 ).
2 References
A=1
A=2
A=4
1.5
Nu
1 A=1, 2, 4
0.5
10 4 10 5 10 6 10 7
Ra
Fig. 11 Nu versus Ra for different aspect ratio A ("  0:4, HR  0:5,
KR  1, and ke =kf  1).
V. Conclusions
Natural convection heated from below in a rectangular enclosure
with a conductive partition has been studied. The two regions,
divided by a horizontal partition, are filled with viscid fluid and a
fluid-saturated porous medium, respectively. The local streamlines
and isotherms in the enclosure and the Nusselt number for different
parameters were presented. The results indicated that the partition
location and thermal conductivity have a significant influence on the
heat transfer rate. Increase of KR and decrease of HR produce a
higher heat transfer rate. In addition, porosity and effective thermal
conductivity of the porous medium also play an important role on the
flow and heat transfer rate. Higher porosity " and conductivity ratio
ke =kf have higher heat transfer rates. With an increase in aspect ratio
A, there is a greater number of cells on the streamlines and isotherms.
However, the effect on the heat transfer rate is not significant.
373
[1] Yin, S. H., Wung, T. Y., and Chen, K., “Natural Convection in an Air
Layer Enclosed Within Rectangular Cavity,” International Journal of
Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 21, No. 3, 1978, pp. 307–315.
doi:10.1016/0017-9310(78)90123-0
[2] Patterson, J., and Imberger, J., “Unsteady Natural Convection in a
Rectangular Cavity,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 100, No. 1,
1980, pp. 65–86.
doi:10.1017/S0022112080001012
[3] Ivey, G. H., “Experiments on Transient Natural Convection in a Cavity,”
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 144, No. 1, 1984, pp. 389–401.
doi:10.1017/S0022112084001658
[4] Koutsoheras, W., and Charters, W. W. S., “Natural Convection
Phenomena in Inclined Cells with Finite Walls: A Numerical Solution,”
Solar Energy, Vol. 19, No. 5, 1977, pp. 433–438.
doi:10.1016/0038-092X(77)90098-6
[5] Kim, D. M., and Viskanta, R., “Study of the Effects of Wall
Conductance on Natural Convection in Differently Oriented Square
Cavities,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 144, No. 1, 1984, pp. 153–
176.
doi:10.1017/S0022112084001555
[6] Nield, D. A., “Onset of Thermohaline Convection in a Porous
Medium,” Water Resources Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, 1968, pp. 553–560.
doi:10.1029/WR004i003p00553
[7] Rubin, H., “Onset of Thermohaline Convection in Heterogeneous
Porous Media,” Israel Journal of Technology, Vol. 19, 1981, pp. 110–
117.
[8] Malashetty, M. S., “Anisotropic Thermoconvective Effects on the Onset
of Double-Diffusive Convection in a Porous Medium,” International
Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 36, No. 9, 1993, pp. 2397–
2401.
doi:10.1016/S0017-9310(05)80123-1
[9] Nield, D. A., Manole, D. M., and Lage, J. L., “Convection Induced by
Inclined Thermal and Solutal Gradients in a Shallow Horizontal Layer
of a Porous Medium,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 257, No. 1,
1993, pp. 559–574.
doi:10.1017/S0022112093003209
[10] Tong, T. W., and Subramanian, E., “Natural Convection in Rectangular
Enclosures Partially Filled with a Porous Medium,” Proceedings of the
ASME–JSME Joint Conference in Thermal Engineering, 1983,
pp. 331–338.
[11] Beckermann, C., Ramadhyani, S., and Viskanta, R., “Natural
Convection Flow and Heat Transfer Between a Fluid Layer and a
Porous Layer Inside a Rectangular Enclosure,” Journal of Heat
374 JANG, CHOU, AND LEU
Transfer, Vol. 109, No. 2, May 1987, pp. 363–370.
doi:10.1115/1.3248089
[12] Nishimura, T., Takumi, T., Kawamura, Y., and Ozoe, H., “Experiments
of Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Rectangular Enclosures
Partially Filled with Particles,” Kagaku Kogaku Ronbunshu, Vol. 11,
No. 4, 1985, pp. 405–410.
[13] Nishimura, T., Takumi, T., Shiraishi, M., Kawamura, Y., and Ozoe, H.,
“Numerical Analysis of Natural Convection in a Rectangular Enclosure
Horizontally Divided into Fluid and Porous Regions,” International
Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 29, No. 6, 1986, pp. 889–898.
doi:10.1016/0017-9310(86)90184-5
[14] Somerton, C. W., and Catton, I., “On the Thermal Instability of
Superposed Porous and Fluid Layers,” Journal of Heat Transfer,
Vol. 104, No. 1, 1982, pp. 160–165.
doi:10.1115/1.3245044
[15] Jang, J. Y., and Chen, C. N., “Natural Convection in an Inclined Porous
Enclosure with an Off-Center Diathermal Partition,” Warme-und
Stoffubertragung, Vol. 24, No. 2, 1989, pp. 117–123.
doi:10.1007/BF01786445
[16] Gobin, D., Goyeau, B., and Neculae, A., “Convective Heat and Solute
Transfer in Partially Porous Cavities,” International Journal of Heat
and Mass Transfer, Vol. 48, No. 10, 2005, pp. 1898–1908.
doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2004.12.016
[17] Catton, I., and Lienhard, J. H., “Thermal Stability of Two Fluid Layers
Separated by a Solid Interlayer of Finite Thickness and Thermal
Conductivity,” Journal of Heat Transfer, Vol. 106, No. 3, Aug. 1984,
pp. 605–612.
doi:10.1115/1.3246722
[18] Jang, J. Y., and Tsai, W. L., “Thermal Instability of Two Horizontal
Porous Layers with a Conductive Partition,” International Journal of
Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 31, No. 5, 1988, pp. 993–1003.
doi:10.1016/0017-9310(88)90088-9
[19] Carr, M., and Straughan, B., “Penetrative Convection in a Fluid
Overlying a Porous Layer,” Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 26,
No. 3, 2003, pp. 263–276.
doi:10.1016/S0309-1708(02)00086-6
[20] Shaw, H. J., Chen, C. K., and Jang, J. Y., “Natural Convection in an
Enclosure Heated from Below with a Conductive Horizontal Partition,”
Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, Vol. 2, No. 4, Oct. 1988,
pp. 335–342.
doi:10.2514/3.109
[21] Jang, J. Y., and Wu, J. J., “Natural Convection in a Porous Enclosure
Heated from Below with a Conductive Horizontal Partition,” Proceed-
ings of the ASME–JSME Joint Conference in Thermal Engineering,
Vol. 3, 1995, pp. 431–438.
[22] Ergun, S., “Fluid Flow Through Packed Columns,” Chemical
Engineering Progress, Vol. 48, 1952, pp. 89–94.
[23] Patankar, S. V., Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, Hemisphere,
New York, 1980, Chap. 5.