Linear Stability of Horizontal Throughflow in a Brinkman Porous Medium with Viscous Dissipation and Soret Effect

Abstract

The onset of double-diffusive convective instability of a horizontal throughflow induced by viscous dissipation in a fluid-saturated porous layer of high permeability is investigated. The porous layer is infinitely long along the horizontal direction and is bounded by two rigid surfaces maintained at constant, but different solute concentrations. The lower surface is thermally insulated, whereas the upper surface is considered to be isothermal. The Darcy–Brinkman model is adopted for deriving the equations governing flow in the medium, and the Soret effect is considered to persist in the flow. The instability in the base flow is considered to be induced by the non-negligible viscous heating. Disturbances in the base flow are assumed in the form of oblique rolls, where the longitudinal and the transverse rolls are at two extreme inclinations. The disturbance functions are assumed to be of O(1). It is considered that $$Ge\ll 1$$ and $$|Pe|\gg 1$$ , where Ge is the Gebhart number and Pe is the Peclet number. The eigenvalue problem with coupled ordinary differential equations governing the disturbances in the flow is solved numerically using bvp4c in MATLAB. Results obtained depict that the flow is most stable in the Brinkman regime and the longitudinal rolls are the preferred mode of instability. The solute concentration gradient and the Soret parameter have both stabilizing and destabilizing effect on the flow in the medium, when the values of both are either positive or negative. However, they have either monotonically stabilizing or monotonically destabilizing effect on the flow, when the values of both have opposite signs.