Triple-Diffusive Mixed Convection in a Porous Open Cavity

• Published in: Transport in porous media Vol. 116; no. 2; pp. 473 - 491
• Main Authors: Ghalambaz, Mehdi, Moattar, Faramarz, Karbassi, Abdolreza, Sheremet, Mikhail A., Pop, Ioan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Boussinesq approximation; Buoyancy; Civil Engineering; Classical and Continuum Physics; Concentration gradient; Convection; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Finite element method; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Heat transfer; Holes; Hydrogeology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Lewis numbers; Mass transfer; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Parameters; Peclet number; Pollutants; Porous media; Three-component mixture; Environment; Pollutant diffusion; Mass transfer
• ISSN: 0169-3913; 1573-1634
• DOI: 10.1007/s11242-016-0785-9

The triple-diffusive mixed convection heat and mass transfer of a mixture is analyzed in an enclosure filled with a Darcy porous medium. The mass transfer buoyancy effects due to concentration gradients of the dispersed components (pollutant components) are taken into account using the Boussinesq approximation model. The governing equations are transformed into a non-dimensional form, and six groups of non-dimensional parameters, including Darcy–Rayleigh number, Peclet number, two Lewis numbers for pollutant components 1 and 2 and two buoyancy ratio parameters for pollutant components 1 and 2, are introduced. The governing equations are numerically solved for various combinations of non-dimensional parameters using the finite element method. The effect of each group of non-dimensional parameters on the pollutant distribution and the heat transfer in the cavity is discussed. The results indicate that the presence of one pollutant component can significantly affect the pollutant distribution of the other component. When the Lewis number of a pollutant component is small, the increase in the bouncy ratio parameter of the proposed component always increases the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers in the cavity.