Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.91, No.1, 127-135, 2013
Fully developed mixed convection of a binary fluid in a vertical porous channel
This paper reports an analytical and numerical study of mixed convection heat and mass transfer of a binary fluid in a vertical parallel plate channel filled with a porous medium. The thermal conditions applied on the walls of the system are uniform heat fluxes. Both the cases of double-diffusion and Soret-induced convection are considered. The governing equations for the porous medium rely on Darcy's model. The governing parameters for the problem are the Rayleigh number, Ra, Peclet number, Pe, Lewis number, Le, buoyancy ratio, phi, aspect ratio of the channel $A = L'/H'$ and the constant a (a?=?0 for double diffusive convection and a?=?1 for Soret induced convection). The resulting problem, in the limit of fully developed mixed convection, is solved analytically in closed form. A numerical solution of the full governing equations is demonstrated to be in good agreement with the analytical model. The temperature and velocity fields and the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are obtained in terms of the governing parameters. The possible existence of reversed flows in the channel is discussed. (c) 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering