Forced Convection in a Channel Filled With a Porous

Medium: An Exact Solution

K. Vafai1 and S. J. Kim1

Nomenclature
specific heat, J k g _ 1 K _ 1
Da Darcy number, defined by equation
(la)
h = convective heat transfer coefficient,
Wm-2K"'
H = one half of channel height Fig. 1 Schematic of the problem and the corresponding coordinate
system
F = a function that depends on the
Reynolds number and the the performance of a heat exchanger containing a high-
microstructure of the porous conductivity porous medium. Their analysis was based on a
medium slug flow model. They have shown that for a constant heat
ke = effective thermal conductivity, flux boundary condition the wall temperature is significantly
Wm-'K"1 decreased by the insertion of a porous material in the channel.
K = permeability of the porous medium, To account for the effect of a solid boundary, Kaviany (1985)
m2 used a numerical solution of laminar flow in a porous channel
Nu = Nusselt number, defined by equa- bounded by isothermal parallel plates based on the
tion (12) Brinkman-extended Darcy model. Recently Poulikakos and
p = pressure Renken (1987) performed a numerical investigation on the ef-
T = temperature, K fects of flow inertia, variable porosity, and a solid boundary
u = dimensionless x-component on fluid flow and heat transfer through porous media
velocity ={u)/ux bounded by parallel plates or circular pipe. They found that
«„ = x-component velocity outside the boundary and inertia effects decrease the Nusselt number,
momentum boundary layer whereas variable porosity effects increase the Nusselt number.
x = horizontal coordinate In this paper fully developed forced convection in a porous
y = vertical coordinate channel bounded by parallel plates is considered based on the
ae = effective thermal diffusivi- general flow model. Exact solutions are obtained and
ty = ke/pfCp, m 2 s - 1 presented for both the velocity and the temperature fields.
5 = porosity of the porous medium From these results the Nusselt number can be expressed in
Ar - inertia parameter, defined by equa- terms of the Darcy number and the inertia parameter. Finally,
tion (lb) comparisons are made with the limiting case of no inertia
/V = fluid viscosity, kg m ~ ' s _ 1 and/or boundary effects. These results provide an in-depth in-
2
•7 = kinematic viscosity, m 3
s~' sight into the underlying relationships between all of the perti-
Pf = fluid density, kg m~ nent variables. Furthermore, they can be used as strong can-
<> = "local volume average" of a didates for bench marking of many numerical schemes.
quantity
Analysis
Introduction The geometry of the problem under consideration is shown
Utilizing porous media in such contemporary technology as in Fig. 1. A channel bounded by two parallel plates is filled
thermal insulation, direct contact heat exchangers, and with a granular porous medium. The heat transfer to (or from)
nuclear waste repositories has provided strong impetus for the the channel takes place at the solid walls. We concentrate on
analyses of fluid flow and heat transfer through porous the portion of the channel that comes after the thermal entry
media. In most applications the Reynolds number based on length. It is also assumed that the properties of the porous
the pore size is greater than unity and there is an impermeable medium and the fluid are isotropic and homogeneous, and
boundary, which make Darcy's law inapplicable. For these that the porous medium is in local thermodynamic equilibrium
reasons the inertia and boundary effects have been included in with the fluid. Then for a constant porosity the governing
a number of recent studies on convective heat transfer in equations, which account for the inertia and boundary effect,
porous media. These effects are incorporated by using the are (Vafai and Tien, 1981)
general flow model known as the Brinkman-Forsch- pf <Hu) pf , v Fb IK0 d<.py
heimer-extended Darcy model. In general, these effects on Y < M > - ^ ^ T 7 T <uy =0 (1)
convective flow and heat transfer through porous media have dy2 dx
been studied by a number of different investigators. For exam- d<T) d2<r>
ple, Vafai and Tien (1981) studied forced convection over a <M> (2)
horizontal flat plate, Hong et al. (1985) investigated natural dx dy2
convection over a vertical flat plate, and Parang and Keyhani It should be noted that in the energy equation the transverse
(1987) analyzed mixed convection through an annulus region. thermal dispersion has been embedded in the effective thermal
The problem of forced convection in a porous channel was conductivity term. In other words the effective thermal con-
studied by Koh and his co-workers (1974, 1975) to investigate ductivity in the energy equation is a combination of stagnant
and dispersion transport mechanisms. Hence the effective
thermal conductivity can be decomposed into two parts; one
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, stands for the stagnant thermal conductivity of the fluid-
OH 43210. saturated porous medium and the other incorporates the addi-
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division for publication in the JOURNAL OF tional thermal transport due to the transverse mixing (Cheng,
HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received by the Heat Transfer Division June 15,
1988. Keywords: Forced Convection, Geophysical Heat Transfer, Porous 1987). Essentially this approach corresponds to just changing
Media. the value of the effective thermal conductivity, which was

Journal of Heat Transfer NOVEMBER 1989, Vol. 111 /1103

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 pointed out by Beckermann and Viskanta (1987). Also note that there is no interaction between the two viscous boundary
that the axial conduction term has been neglected in equation layers at the upper and the lower walls.
(2). The axial conduction is usually negligible for most ap- Applying the no-slip condition at the wall gives
plications; however, it can become important under certain
circumstances (Prasad and Tuntomo, 1987). 1
seclr •1
The appropriate boundary conditions are D '^ A+B
For the case where the inertial effects are neglected the velocity
= 0, —^- =0at.y = 0 (3a) profile expressed by equation (8) approaches the following ex-
dy dy
pression asymptotically:
<">=0,
a<r> Q»
aty = H (3b) cosh[Da- 1/2 .y]
u=\ (9)
dy coshDa
Momentum Boundary Layer. Introduction of the follow- which is the solution of equation (6) when the inertial effects
ing dimensionless variables are neglected. For this case (without the inertial effects) the
solution given by equation (6) matches that given by
y =
y Poulikakos and Kazmierczak (1987).
H We also note that the mean velocity needed in the thermal
transforms equations (1) and (3) into boundary layer calculations is obtained by direct integration
of equation (8). This results in
dP-u 8H2 M„F5 2 i^ ,
dy 2
vfKxn A+B tanh[D(.l + Cl))-taah[DCi]
K « m = l- (10)
D
W d{pV
=0 (4) Thermal Boundary Layer. The procedure for obtaining
HfUv, dx the fully developed temperature profile in the channel sub-
du(0) jected to the constant wall heat flux is very lengthy. The pro-
=0 (5a) cedure used here has some similarities to that used for regular
dy fluid flow. Hence, for the sake of brevity, details are omitted
«(!) = 0 (5b) here. After considerable algebraic manipulations the solution
where * is dropped for convenience and u„ denotes the veloci- of equation (2), satisfying equation (3), is expressed in non-
ty outside the momentum boundary layer, which is of the dimensional form as
order of y[K7b/H (Vafai and Tien, 1981). TW-{T) (1 2)+ A +B / t a n h [DCJ ( 1 - J 0
Outside the momentum boundary layer, the momentum
equation reduces to
= Hr -' D X
8H d(p)f 5H 2
U^FPH 2 cosh[D(y + Cl)]
lijUn dx K vsK yl (5) +
l*ln cosh[DCJ )}"• ,/T (11)
where
Combining equations (4) and (5) yields
1
A+B[S(-e2DC>)-S(-e2mi + C )
i)
d2u
— - 15 - = D a - ' ( « - l ) + A / D a - 1 / 2 ( w 2 - l )
dy
(6) + A I £>3

where the Darcy number and the inertia parameter are defined A+B 2fl
<1 + c

as 2D + (tanh[Z>C,]+ •^ L )]log(e i» + 1)

1 K
Da = (la) 1 A+B/ , A,\ 20C,
7/2 ^ T ~ ^ - (tanhLDC, ] + -±) log(e ' + 1)

k, = bV2F Ub) 1 / 3A, + A ,

v (tanh[DCl}+ — 2 - 3-
f 2D )
It should be noted the inertia parameter is directly related to
the Reynolds number, so it can also be considered as a A+B 2 1
— (£>tanh[£>C1]A4+.DA4 + A 5 )])
modified Reynolds number. After some algebraic manipula- A £>3
tions, the final integration of equation (6) yields
and S(x) is the Spence Dilogarithm and
2 2/5(1+2C.)
M=1 ^—sech [D(y+Cl)] (8) 2D 2DC
A=e ' + (e2D - l ) e '+ l
2D(1+2C.)
A, = e ' • (e2D-Y)e
where 2D(1+2C.) IDC,

^lA+B A2=e ' +e

A= - — A 7 D a - 1 / 2 , 5 = D a ' + A7Da1/2, D = 2D(1 + C.)
A3=e >'+l
2DC
A4 = - (e2D - \)e
Equation (8) is of the same form as those that have been ob-
tained by Vafai and Thiyagaraja (1987), Cheng (1987), and The Nusselt number is defined as
Beckermann and Viskanta (1987) for the flow over a flat plate hDh
embedded in a porous medium. The similarity in the velocity Nu = (12)
profiles is a consequence of the fact that the thickness of the
viscous boundary layer does not grow as the streamwise coor- where Dh is the hydraulic diameter of the channel. Using
dinate increases. This was proven by Vafai and Tien (1981), equation (11) we find that the Nusselt number can be
and also substantiated by Kaviany (1985). Hence it is noted represented as

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 1.0 1.0

A,=0\ \
\
\
\ •*Ss
y 0.5 I 100
y 0.5
10
1
V
A
A, = 0 \\

0.0 i i i I
0.0
o.o 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.5
u/uro
T,„-(T)
1.0
q»/h

0.5

y 0.5

0.0,
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
U/Uoo

Fig. 2 Fully developed dimensionless velocity profiles: (a)

Da -1/2 = 10, (b)Da-112. 30
TVjT)
qjh
4 w„ Fig. 3 Fully developed dimensionless temperature profiles: (a)
Nu = (13) Da" = 10, <b)Da" = 30

For a limiting case of A/ = 0, solutions for the temperature

profile and the Nusselt number become can be concluded that the thickness of the velocity boundary
1
-<r> ,, h n/, cosh[Da-1/27] layer for a high-permeability porous medium depends not only
qjh L 2 coshDa •)] on the Darcy number but also on the inertia parameter. This
trend, however, becomes weak for a low-permeability porous
1 medium, i.e., the thickness of the momentum boundary layer
x(l-Da1/2tanhDa^1/2)/ D a becomes independent of the inertia parameter as the
3 (2+ 2cosh2Da-1/2.
permeability of the porous medium decreases, as shown in
Fig. 2(b).
+ — Da 3/2 tanh Da~ 1/2 (14) The invariant dimensionless temperature profiles for the
2
two values Da~ 1 / 2 = 10 and 30 are shown in Figs. 3(a) and
4(l-Da1/2tanhDa"1/2)2 3(b). It can be seen that the inertia effects will have less of an
Nu = effect on the temperature profile as the permeability of the
porous medium decreases. Finally, the variation of the Nusselt
-Da(2 + —) + Da 3/2 tanh Da~
2 1/2 number for the fully developed temperature and velocity fields
2cosh Da- / 2
as a function of the Darcy number is shown in Fig. 4. The
magnitude of the Nusselt number reaches its asymptotic max-
(15)
imum value as the permeability decreases. This, as expected,
Results and Discussion corresponds to the slug flow through the channel. Also the
The results for the fully developed velocity profile are magnitude of Nu for A7 = 0 approaches 8.24 as A'—oo, which
shown in Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) for the two values of the Darcy corresponds to the fully developed Newtonian flow through
number. These are D a _ 1 / 2 = 10 and 30. Also shown in these the channel. This is because the momentum equation used in
figures are the results for when the inertial effects are the previous section reduces to the Navier-Stokes equation as
neglected. As shown in Fig. 2(a) the thickness of the momen- A"—oo. Hence the Nusselt number for the fully developed flow
tum boundary layer decreases as the inertia effect becomes field varies between 8.24 (for A"-oo) and 12.0 (for A"-0)
significant. This can be explained by the fact that the thickness depending on the value of the Darcy number. Furthermore,
of the momentum boundary layer is 0(Da , / 2 ) when A 7 « l , the variation of the Nusselt number when A7 = 0 (for constant
while the thickness is 0(Da 1 / 4 /A 7 1 / 2 ) when A , » l . Hence it heat flux) is qualitatively the same as that for forced convec-

Journal of Heat Transfer NOVEMBER 1989, Vol. 111 /1105

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 12.0 Poulikakos, D., and Renken, K., 1987, "Forced Convection in a Channel
Filled With Porous Medium, Including the Effects of Flow Inertia, Variable
Porosity, and Brinkman Friction," ASME JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER, Vol.
109, pp. 880-888.
Vafai, K., and Thiyagaraja, R., 1987, "Analysis of Flow and Heat Transfer
11.0 at the Interface Region of a Porous Medium," Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol.
30, pp. 1391-1405.
Vafai, K., and Tien, C. L., 1981, "Boundary and Inertia Effects on Flow and
Heat Transfer in Porous Media," Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 24, pp.
NU 10.0 195-203.

Natural Convection Along a Vertical Wavy Surface

With Uniform Heat Flux
S. Ghosh Moulic1 and L. S. Yao 1

Nomenclature
10' 10' 10' amplitude
a
Da""2 g gravitational acceleration
Fig. 4 Variation of the Nusselt number Gr modified Grashof number, equation
(2e)
tion in a porous channel bounded by isothermal parallel plates k wave number = 2U./1
(Kaviany, 1985). I wavelength
It should be noted that the Nusselt number increases with an Nu Nusselt number, equations (5) and
increase in the inertia parameter. This is because an increase in (6)
the inertia parameter, due to more vigorous mixing of the Pr Prandtl number
fluid, causes a more uniform velocity profile (as can be seen in q surface heat flux, normal to the
Fig. 2). This in turn causes a more uniform temperature surface
distribution across the channel, which gives rise to a lower distance measured along the surface
value of the temperature difference, Tw-Tm. Therefore, from the leading edge
there is a significant increase in the Nusselt number for a T temperature
relatively high permeability medium as the inertia parameter u V velocity components
increases since the Nusselt number is inversely proportional to u, V dimensional velocity components
the temperature difference, Tw — Tm. x y coordinates
X, y dimensional coordinates
Conclusion a dimensionless amplitude = a/l
The problem of forced convection in a channel filled with a 0 thermal expansion coefficient
porous medium and bounded by two parallel plates is ana- dimensionless temperature
lyzed. Exact solutions are obtained for the velocity and
eK thermal conductivity
temperature fields. It is shown that for a high-permeability V kinematic viscosity
porous medium the thickness of the momentum boundary a surface geometry function
layer depends on both the Darcy number and the inertia
parameter, while that for a low-permeability porous medium Superscripts
depends only on the Darcy number. Also, it is shown that = dimensional quantity
neglecting the inertia effect can lead to serious errors for the ' = derivative with respect to x
Nusselt number calculations. It should be noted that there is a
Subscripts
significant increase in the rate of heat transfer as the inertia
parameter increases especially for high to medium permeabili- m = mean value
ty porous media. vc = surface
x = local value
References oo = free stream
Beckermann, C , and Viskanta, R., 1987, "Forced Convection Boundary
Layer Flow and Heat Transfer Along a Flat Plate Embedded in a Porous
Introduction
Medium," Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 30, pp. 1547-1551. Laminar free convection along a semi-infinite vertical wavy
Cheng, P., 1987, "Wall Effects on Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Porous surface has been studied by Yao (1983) for the case of uniform
Media," Proceedings of the 1987 ASME-JSME Thermal Engineering Joint
Conference, Vol. 2, Honolulu, HI. surface temperature. This is a model problem for the inves-
Hong, J. T., Tien, C. L., and Kaviany, M., 1985, "Non-Darcian Effects on tigation of heat transfer from roughened surfaces in order to
Vertical-Plate Natural Convection in Porous Media With High Porosities," Int. understand heat transfer enhancement. In many applications
J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 28, pp. 2149-2157. of practical importance, however, the surface temperature is
Kaviany, M., 1985, "Laminar Flow Through a Porous Channel Bounded by
Isothermal Parallel Plates," Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 28, pp. 851-858.
nonuniform. In this note, the case of uniform surface heat
Koh, J. C. Y., and Colony, R., 1974, "Analysis of Cooling Effectiveness for flux rate, which is often approximated in practical applications
Porous Material in a Coolant Passage," ASME JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER, and is easier to measure in a laboratory, has been investigated.
Vol. 96, pp. 324-330. Numerical results have been obtained for a sinusoidal wavy
Koh, J. C. Y., and Stevens, R. L., 1975, "Enhancement of Cooling Effec-
tiveness by Porous Materials in Coolant Passages," ASME JOURNAL OF HEAT
surface. The results show that the Nusselt number varies pe-
TRANSFER, Vol. 97, pp. 309-311. riodically along the wavy surface. The wavelength of the Nus-
Parang, M., and Keyhany, M., 1987, "Boundary and Inertia Effects on Flow
and Heat Transfer in Porous Media," Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 24, pp.
195-203.
Prasad, V., and Tuntomo, A., 1987, "Inertia Effects on Natural Convection 'Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State Uni-
in a Vertical Porous Cavity," Num. Heat Transfer, Vol. 11, pp. 295-320. versity, Tempe, AZ 85287-6106.
Poulikakos, D., and Kazmierczak, M., 1987, "Forced Convection in a Duct Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division for publication in the JOURNAL OF
Partially Filled With a Porous Material," ASME JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER, HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received by the Heat Transfer Division August 7,
Vol. 109, pp. 653-662. 1987. Keywords: Natural Convection.

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