Maximum density effects on natural convection in a porous cavity under thermal non-equilibrium conditions (Q867414)

This valuable paper studies the steady free convection flow in a rectangular cavity filled with a porous medium. It is assumed that the porous medium is saturated with water near its maximum density. It is also assumed that the right vertical wall of the cavity is cooled to the constant temperature \(T^c\) and the left vertical wall is heated to the constant temperature \(T^h\), while the horizontal walls are thermally insulated (adiabatic). A parabolic relationship between the density and temperature is used in Darcy model. Using appropriate dimensionless transformations, the basic governing equations are presented in dimensionless form and are solved numerically using a finite volume method. The results are presented to show the effect of the governing parameters: Rayleigh number \(Ra\), heat transfer coefficient parameter \(H\), the thermal conductivity parameter \(K^r\) and aspect ratio parameter \(A\). It is shown, among others things, that by increasing \(H\) and \(K^r\), the shape of the isotherms of the solid phase appears to be similar to those of the water due to the enhancement of thermal communications between the two phases. Further, it is found that the numerical results reveal the dependence of average Nusselt number on the aspect ratio parameter \(A\). The maximum values of the average Nusselt number are found for the cavities of aspect ratio \(A= 0.5\). This is a very well done paper with valuable results which may be used with great confidence by other researchers working in porous media.