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ANALYSES OF FREE CONVECTION FLOW OF AN

INCLINED PLATE EMBEDDED IN A DOUBLE
LAYER POROUS MEDIUM
ARTICLE in TRANSACTIONS- CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING JUNE 2015
Impact Factor: 0.46

1 AUTHOR:
N. Beithou
Applied Science Private University
37 PUBLICATIONS 74 CITATIONS
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Retrieved on: 01 September 2015

ANALYSES OF FREE CONVECTION FLOW OF AN INCLINED PLATE EMBEDDED IN A

DOUBLE LAYER POROUS MEDIUM
N. Beithou
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan
E-mail: Nabil@asu.edu.jo
Received March 2014, Accepted April 2015
No. 14-CSME-37, E.I.C. Accession 3698

ABSTRACT
Porous media offer wide practical applications, such as the use of the porous medium in solar water desalination systems to enhance water evaporation or condensation. Water condensation represents half of the
desalination process. This study presents a simulation for the condensation process with double porous layers. This problem is simulated as the natural convection from an inclined plate embedded in a double layer
porous medium; the plate was subjected to a constant wall temperature with variable layers thickness, permeability ratio and different plate angles. The effects of these parameters on the temperature distribution and
total heat transfer were investigated. It has been found that the heat transfer rate increases with increasing
the permeability ratio. Also increasing the layers thickness ratio in low permeability ratios, or keeping the
layers ratio as minimum in the high permeability ratios are favorite. The inclination angle affects negatively
the rate of heat transfer due to the buoyancy effect.
Keywords: heat flux; constant temperature; free convection; clat plates; double layers; porous medium;
evaporation.

ANALYSE DUN DBIT CONVECTION LIBRE DUNE PLAQUE INCLINE INTGRE

DANS UN MDIUM POREUX EN COUCHE DOUBLE
RSUM
Les mdiums poreux servent dans une grande varit dapplications pratiques telles que lutilisation dun
mdium poreux dans les systmes de dsalinisation solaire pour augmenter lvaporation ou la condensation.
La condensation reprsente la moiti du processus de dsalinisation. Cette tude prsente une simulation du
processus de condensation en couches poreuses doubles. Ce problme est simul comme une convection
naturelle partir dune plaque incline intgre dans un mdium poreux doubles couches ; la plaque tant
soumise une temprature constante des parois, dpaisseurs variables, et un ratio de permabilit ainsi que
diffrents angles de la plaque. Les effets de ces paramtres sur la distribution de la temprature et le transfert
de chaleur sont investigues. On constate que le taux de transfert de chaleur augmente en accroissant le ratio
de permabilit. Ainsi il est prfrable daccrotre le ratio de lpaisseur des couches en ratio de basse
temprature, ou gardant le ratio de couches au minimum en ratio de permabilit. Langle dinclinaison
affecte ngativement le taux de transfert de chaleur d leffet de buyoancy.
Mots-cls : flux de chaleur; temprature constante; convection libre; plaques plates; doubles couches; mdium poreux; vaporation.

Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

NOMENCLATURE
a, b, c
f
g
h
K
k
l
L
T
q
u
v
x
y
LT R
PR
HT R

constants
dimensionless stream function. [-]
gravitational acceleration [m/s2 ]
convective heat transfer coefficient [W/m2 K]
bed permeability [m2 ]
thermal conductivity of the fluid saturated porous medium [W/m K]
length of the plate [m]
dimensionless length of the inserted layer
temperature [K]
heat flux [W/m2 ]
velocity in x-direction [m/s]
velocity in y-direction [m/s]
transverse coordinate [m]
longitudinal coordinate [m]
layers thickness ratio
permeability ratio
heat transfer rate [W]

Greek symbols

equivalent thermal diffusivity [m2 /s]

coefficient of thermal expansion [1/K]
change or difference
dimensionless similarity variable
dynamic viscosity [Pas]
dimensionless temperature
dimensionless Nusselt number
density [kg/m3 ]
stream function [m2 /s]
function of x
inclination angle [Degree]

Subscripts
w

plate wall surface

infinity

Superscripts

dimensionless property
derivative with respect to

1. INTRODUCTION
Porous medium receives an increased interest for its large number of practical applications in geophysics,
thermal insulation of buildings, petroleum resources, packed bed reactors, solar systems and sensible heat
storage beds. Many theoretical studies related to porous medium were performed [13]. It is well known
that the use of porous medium enhances the Heat Transfer Rate (HTR) [2]. The radiation heat transfer in
porous medium was presented by Argento [4]. Ress (1996) analyzed the effect of inertial term on heat
transfer in porous medium [5]. The ability of using variable porosity and double porous layers to enhance
the HTR in porous medium was considered in [6, 7]. Later different solution techniques were used to solve
the resulted nonlinear governing equations in porous medium [8, 9]. The combination of the different terms
in porous media led to new ideas and new applications [1012, 16]. One of these applications is solar energy
2

Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

desalination which has implemented the porous medium as a part of its systems in order to increase the solar
absorption or increase the heat recovery as water is heated using the sun radiations then condensed on a
cooler surface to produce stilled water [15]. Porous medium increases the efficiency of the solar collectors
as a result of the enhancement of heat transfer. The performance of a flat plate with and without porous
media was analyzed by Yousef and Adam [13]. Thermal efficiency of a double pass solar collector was
evaluated by Sopian et al., who found that the presence of porous medium in the second channel increases
the thermal efficiency of the system [14].
Increasing the rate of water desalination is always favorable. Investigating the natural convection from an
inclined plate embedded in a double layer porous medium was the target, which has been considered in this
study. To do so, a modified solar desalination device was proposed. The modified water desalination device
mainly consists of
1. Upper plate: where solar energy is achieved from the sun and transmitted through plate.
2. Porous layer 1: used to enhance the heat transfer to the water.
3. Porous layer 2: used to optimize the porous medium thickness.
4. Inclination angle : that affects the natural convection heat transfer.
The thickness of each of the double porous layers plays a great role in the evaporation process in a fast
continuous way. Thus the porous Layers Thickness Ratio (LTR) is considered to be an important parameter
which maximizes the condensation rate and increases the efficiency of the solar energy water still system.
To analyze the pre-mentioned system, two porous layers were used and an inclined plate was embedded
in the porous media. Mass, momentum and energy equations were written for the given system. The
governing equations which are partial nonlinear differential equations were transformed into a set of ordinary
differential equations by using similarity method. The resulted nonlinear ordinary differential equations with
the appropriate boundary conditions were solved numerically using the RungeKutta method.
2. GOVERNING EQUATIONS
The problem, which is illustrated in Figure 1, represents a fluid flow along an inclined plate subjected to a
constant surface temperature embedded in a double layer porous media. The basic governing equations for
the present study under Boussinesq approximation can be written for the two layers as:
For Layer 1:

u1
1

+
=
0

x
y

g k1
u1 = (T T ) cos( ) .
(1)

u1 Tx + 1 Ty = yT2
For Layer 2:
u2
x

+ y2 = 0

u2 =

g k2
(T

T ) cos( )
2T

u2 Tx + 2 Ty = y2

(2)

With the boundary conditions

u(x, 0) = 0,

T (x, 0) = Tw ,

(x, 0) = 0

u(x, ) = 0,

T (x, ) = T ,

as y .

at y = 0

Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

(3)
3

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of an inclined plate with double layer porous medium.

And an interface boundary condition



u 
u 
=
.
x 1
x 2

(4)

Introducing the following dimensionless quantities

u =

u
,
(/L)

x
x = ,
L

,
(/L)

y
y = ,
L

T T
.
Tw T

Equations (1) and (2) can be written respectively as

For Layer 1:
u1
1
x + y = 0
u1 = Ra cos( )

u1 x + 1 y =

2
y2

(5)

For Layer 2:
u
x

+ y = 0

u2 =

k2
k1 Ra

(6)

u2 x

+ 2 y

Ra =

g Lk1
(Tw T ).

(7)

cos( )
=

2
y2

where

Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

With the dimensionless boundary conditions

u (x , 0) = 0,

(x , 0) = 0

= 1,

at y = 0

u (x , ) = 0, = 0, as y


u 
u 
=
at the interface.
x 1
x 1

(8)

For simplicity, removing the superscript star, Eqs. (5, 6) and (8) can be written respectively as

1
u1

x + y = 0

u1 = Ra cos( )

u1 x + 1 y = y2

2
u2

+
=
0

x
y

k2
u2 = k1 Ra cos( )

u2 x + 2 y = y2
u(x, 0) = 0,

= 1,

(x, 0) = 0,

u(x, ) = 0,

= 0,

as

u2
u1
=
x
x

(9)

(10)

at y = 0

at the interface.

(11)

Introducing the following similarity variables

1/2

1/2

= Ra
with

1/2

Ra
= ,
y
x

x1/2 f (),
1/2

x3/2 Ra
=
x
2

yRa
= ,
x
1/2

x3/2 Ra
y=
2

(12)

x
1/2
Ra

2x

(13)

and from Eqs. (12) and (13) using the Chain rule we can derive
1/2

u=

f
Ra f
f
1/2
1/2
= Ra x1/2
= Rs x1/2
= Ra
= Ra f 0
y
y
x

1/2

1/2

1 1/2 1/2
f
Ra
Ra
1/2
=
=
Ra x
f () Ra x1/2
= f + nf0
x
2
x
2 x
2 x
1/2

1/2

Ra
Ra
=
=
= 0
y
y
x
x

1
=
= 0
x
x
2x
!
1/2
1/2
2
Ra
Ra 0
Ra 0 Ra 00
0

=
=
= .
y2
y
x
x y
x
x
Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

(14)
5

Using the relations presented in Eq. (14), formulae (9) for layer 1 become
u1 1
+
= 0,
x
y

=0
x y y x

which satisfies the continuity equation.

u1 = Ra cos( ) Ra cos( ) f 0 cos( ) = 0

(15)




2
1
0
0
u1
+ 1
= 2 Ra f
x
y
y
2x
!
1/2
1/2
1/2
Ra
Ra
Ra
1
0 Ra

+
f+
nf
0 = 00 00 + f 0 = 0.
2 x
2 x
x
x
2

(16)

Similarly for layer 2, Eqs. (10) become

f0

k1
cos( ) = 0
k2

(17)

1 0
f = 0.
(18)
2
Finally, applying the similarity variables which are given above in Eqs. (14) to the boundary conditions
presented in Eqs. (11) lead to
00 +

u(x, 0) = 0 f 0 (0) = 0,

(0) = 1,

(x, 0) = 0 f (0) = 0

u(x, ) = 0 f 0 () = 0, () = 0 as


u1 u2
2 
2 
=

=
Ra f 00 |1 = Ra f 00 |2 = f 00 |2
x
x
x y 1 y x 2

at = 0

at the interface

(19)

The primary physical quantity of interest is the Nusselt number Nu, = hx/k. With the aid of the dimensionless parameters, Eq. (12) and the use of Fouriers law qw = k(dT /dy)|y=0 , the Nusselt number can
then be given by I Pop [8],
1/2
Nu/Ra = (d /d).
(20)
3. NUMERICAL SOLUTION
Figure 1 illustrates the problem of a vertical plate embedded in a double layers porous media, where the
plate is subjected to a constant surface temperature with variable layers thicknesses. The governing equations (1518) with the boundary conditions (19) were solved using the RungeKutta method. The temperature distribution, Nusselt number, permeability ratio, and layers thickness ratio were investigated.
4. RESULTS AND ANALYSES
To understand the effect of double layer on the performance of the proposed system the temperature distribution, Heat Transfer Rate (HTR), permeability ratio (PR), and Layers Thickness Ratio (LTR) were investigated. Figure 2 shows the variation of heat transfer rate with the permeability ratio of the double layers.
The heat transfer rate increases with increasing the permeability ratio which is consistent with the results
6

Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

Fig. 2. The variation of Nusselt number with the permeability ratio.

Fig. 3. Temperature distribution throughout the porous media for different permeability ratios.

of Vafai et al. [2], lower permeability near the surface allow higher fluid velocities and higher HTR, thus a
high permeability ratio is preferred to be used in such systems.
The temperature distribution throughout the porous media for different PRs is shown in Fig. 3.
The temperatures start from the surface temperature and drop to the ambient temperature far from the
plate. A simple variation is shown at the middle where the two layers are in contact; this is due the variation
in the conductivity of the different layers.
The HTR versus eta for different PR and ( = 70) is indicated in Fig. 4. As it is expected the HTR
decreases with , until it reaches zero where there is no temperature difference. The effect of the PR is also
clarified in Figure 4 and it shows an increase in the HTR as the PR increases.
The effect of LTR on the HTR for different PR values and inclination angles are shown in Figs. 57.
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1/2

Fig. 4. Nu/Ra

versus eta for different permeability ratios ( = 70).

1/2

Fig. 5. Layers thickness ratio versus Nu/Ra

for different permeability ratios ( = 0).

As shown in Fig. 5, the HTR does not change for constant permeability; it is the value for the vertical plate
with constant permeability. It should be noted that if the PR below one the HTR increases with increasing
the LTR, but if the PR above one the LTR has a reverse effect on the HTR. This means that it is important to
increase the LTR in the case of low PRs (below one), but keep the LTR as minimum is the case of high PR
(above one).
Figure 6 indicates a continuous decrease in the HTR as the angle is 30 degrees, no matter the value of the
PR, as the LTR increases.
1/2
Figure 7 relates the Nu/Ra to layer thickness ratios for = 70 degrees. In this case the HTR decreases
with increasing layer thickness, and there is a critical value for the PR k1 /k2 = 0.2, as it is willing to increase
if this value has been decreased more.
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Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

1/2

for different permeability ratios ( = 30).

1/2

for different permeability ratios ( = 70).

Fig. 6. Layers thickness ratio versus Nu/Ra

Fig. 7. Layers thickness ratio versus Nu/Ra

The angle is measured from the vertical axis and Fig. 8 shows that the increase in the inclination angle
will negatively affect the rate of heat transfer. The natural convection in the vertical plates is a maximum
due to the buoyancy effect.
5. CONCLUSIONS
Solar desalination systems are important devices in supplying potable water in many water scarcity countries. To maximize the amount of water desalinated per unit area the use of porous medium is proposed
to enhance heat transfer. In this study a simulation of the condensation process is attached by studying a
vertical plate embedded in a double layer porous media with variable thicknesses and plate angle variation.
Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2015

Fig. 8. The effect of the inclination angle on the heat transfer rate for different permeability ratios.

The effect of different permeability rations, layers thickness ratio, and inclination angle on the heat transfer
rate were investigated. It has been found that the heat transfer rate increases with increasing the permeability
ratio. Also it is important to increase the layers thickness ratio in the case of low permeability ratios (below
one), but keep the layers thickness as minimum in the case of high permeability ratios (above one). The
inclination angle affects negatively the rate of heat transfer because the natural convection in the vertical
plates is a maximum due to the buoyancy effect.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is grateful to the Applied Science Private University for their financial support.
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