Nonlinear Study of Stratified Fluid Through Porous Media

Abstract

An analysis is presented to describe the effects of Darcy resistance, fluid inertia, and horizontal density gradient on a heterogeneous Boussinesq fluid saturated porous medium in the presence of the vertical gravitational field using the Forchheimer-Lapwood extended Darcy (DLF) equation. The fluid is initially at rest, and sets in motion owing to two forms of the initial density gradients. One is the constant initial horizontal density gradient and the other is the piecewise constant density gradient. In the case of the uniform initial horizontal density gradient a purely horizontal motion develops satisfying the nonlinear Forchheimer extended Darcy (FD) equation. Analytical solution of this equation is obtained and limiting solutions valid for the Darcy regime and for a nonviscous fluid in the absence of porous media are derived. A measure of the stability of the flow is discussed briefly using the Richardson number. A comparison between the nature of solutions satisfying the nonlinear and linear initial value problems is made. We found that the vertical density gradient varies continuously both with space z and time t but the horizontal density gradient remains unchanged. In the case of a piecewise constant initial density gradient with continuous distribution of density, stream function formulation is used and the solutions are obtained using time-series analysis. In this case the solution shows crowding of the density profiles in the lower half of the channel, reflecting an increase in density gradient and incipient frontogenesis there, because of the increase in circulation of the flow due to the piecewise initial density gradient. Copyright © 2001 by Begell House, Inc.