Thermoconvective flow in a saturated, isotropic, homogeneous porous medium using Brinkman’s model: numerical study

Abstract

Numerical results generated by a highly efficient finite‐difference method (originated by Keller for aerodynamical flows at the California Institute of Technology in 1970), and a robust double shooting Runge‐Kutta‐Merson scheme are presented for the boundary layer equations representing the convection flow of a viscous incompressible fluid past a hot vertical flat plate embedded in a non‐Darcy porous medium. Viscous dissipation due to mechanical work is included in the temperature field equation. The computations for both solution techniques are compared at the leading edge (ξ = 0.0) and found to be in excellent agreement. The effects of the viscous heating parameter (Ec), thermal conductivity ratio (λ) and a Darcy porous parameter (Re/GrDa) on the fluid velocities, temperatures, local shear stress and wall heat transfer rate are discussed with applications to geothermal and industrial flows.