The Cheng–Minkowycz problem for natural convection about a vertical plate embedded in a tridisperse porous medium

Abstract

The classical Cheng–Minkowycz study of convection past a vertical plate embedded in a porous medium has been extended to the case of a tridisperse porous medium (TDPM). The boundary-layer analysis leads to expressions for the velocity and temperature fields in terms of two geometrical parameters, two inter-phase momentum transfer parameters, two thermal diffusivity ratios, two permeability ratios, two thermal conductivity ratios, and two inter-phase heat transfer parameters. For the leading edge region, and for an inner layer, a similarity solution is obtained. This involves the first eight parameters, each of which is a characteristic of the TDPM.