The Brinkman model for natural convection in a porous layer: Effects of nonuniform thermal gradient (Q1315784)

The authors have investigated the effect of nonlinear temperature distribution on stability of natural convection in a porous horizontal layer. The analytical solution in a closed form for the flow and heat transfer variables, based on a parallel flow assumption, has been obtained in terms of Darcy-Rayleigh number. The critical value of Rayleigh number for onset of the convection is also predicted. Two limiting cases as the Darcy number tends to zero and infinity have been also considered neatly. Comparison of these results with known ones points out the discrepancy for very small Darcy numbers.