Numerical study of forced convection of a power-law fluid in a porous channel

G. Chen, H. A. Hadim

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

A detailed numerical study of laminar forced convection in a porous channel saturated with a power-law fluid was performed. Hydrodynamic and heat transfer results are reported for the configuration in which the channel was heated symmetrically at the walls. The flow in the porous medium was modeled using the Brinkman-Forchheimer extended Darcy model. Parametric studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of Darcy number, power law index, and Prandtl number. The results indicate that when the power law index is increased, the velocity gradient near the walls decreases and the fully developed centerline velocity increases. These effects are reduced gradually as the Darcy number decreases until the Darcy regime (Da≤10-6) is reached in which the effects of power law index are negligible. As the power law index is increased, the thermal boundary layer thickness increases and the wall temperature increases but these effects are only important in the non-Darcy regime. Consequently, as the power law index increases, the average Nusselt number decreases significantly in the non-Darcy regime whereas in the Darcy regime the change in Nusselt number is very small. As the Prandtl number increases, the average Nusselt number increases and this effect is more significant for shear-thinning fluids (power law index less than 1.0). As the power law index decreases, the pressure drop decreases suggesting that shear-thinning fluids are more attractive for heat transfer enhancement.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHeat Transfer in Porous Media
EditorsF.B. Cheung, Y.A. Hassan, A. Singh
Edition7
StatePublished - 1995
EventProceedings of the 1995 30th National Heat Transfer Conference. Part 14 - Portland, OR, USA
Duration: 6 Aug 19958 Aug 1995

Publication series

NameAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers, Heat Transfer Division, (Publication) HTD
Number7
Volume309
ISSN (Print)0272-5673

Conference

ConferenceProceedings of the 1995 30th National Heat Transfer Conference. Part 14
CityPortland, OR, USA
Period6/08/958/08/95

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