Pseudosteady-state natural convection inside spherical containers partially filled with a porous medium (Q1973094)

This paper reports a numerical study of pseudosteady-state two-dimensional m7ee convection within spherical containers partially filled with porous medium. The computations are based on an iterative finite volume method which uses primitive variables and solves the time-dependent continuity, momentum and energy equations in spherical coordinates. The problem is modeled via Boussinesq approximation for the fluid, and Darcy law describes the porous medium. A parametric study is performed in terms of Rayleigh number (Ra), Darcy number (Da), and the thermal conductivity ratio varying with the time. The authors come to the following conclusions: 1) during the transient period before attaining the pseudosteady-state condition, the heated fluid within the porous medium adjacent to the surface rises replacing the colder fluid, which sinks from the porous medium into the central fluid core; 2) under the pseudosteady-state condition, nearly perfect concentric temperature contours are observed for low Ra, indicating one-dimensional heat diffusion. For high Ra, the strengthened buoyancy force is capable of negotiating the resistance force, and the fluid motion is intesified within the porous medium. Also the gravity-induced fluid motion greatly enhances the heat transfer rate near the bottom of the sphere; 3) for low Da, the flow field is restricted within the central fluid core. Only for high Da, one can observe comparable fluid motion in both the porous medium and central fluid core regions. The local Nusselt number on the surface and interface temperature exhibit nearly uniform variations for low Da. For high Da, marked heat transfer is observed on the bottom of the sphere; 4) the intensity of the recirculating flow in the central fluid core region depends on the thermal conductivity ratio.