Solutal Dispersion and Viscous Dissipation Effects on Non-Darcy Free Convection Over a Cone in Power-Law Fluids

Abstract

The effects of viscous dissipation and solutal dispersion on free convection about an isothermal vertical cone with a fixed apex half angle, pointing downwards in a power-law fluid-saturated non-Darcy porous medium are analyzed. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into partial differential equations using non-similarity transformation. The resulting equations are solved numerically using an accurate local non-similarity method. The accuracy of the numerical results is validated by a quantitative comparison of the heat and mass transfer rates with previously published results for a special case and the results are found to be in good agreement. The effects of viscous dissipation, solutal dispersion, and/or buoyancy ratio on the velocity, temperature, and concentration field as well as on the heat and mass transfer rates are illustrated, by insisting on the comparison between pseudo-plastic, dilatant, and Newtonian fluids. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 43(5): 476–488, 2014; Published online 11 November 2013 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj). DOI 10.1002/htj.21095