Lattice Boltzmann Simulation for Flow Inside Open-Ended Porous Medium With Partially Thermally Active Walls

Abstract

Free convection heat transfer and flow characteristics in an open-ended enclosure occupied with fluid saturated porous media are highlighted in this paper. All numerical investigations are achieved using the mesoscopic approach thermal Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) by using the Darcy-Forchheimer model. The bottom and the top sides of the porous enclosure is thermally isolated with complete or partially heated vertical wall facing the opening sidewall. The partial slice of left wall of the enclosure with a fixed heating length as (H/3) is isothermally heated at the middle, top and bottom locations. However, right side is open to the ambient physical conditions. The influences of partial heating location on free convection characteristics, namely, isotherms, streamlines, centerline variations of horizontal and vertical, average and local Nusselt numbers are explored for Darcy number of 0.01, porosity of 0.4, Rayleigh number of 106 and unity Prandtl number.