Oscillatory flow and heat transfer in a horizontal composite porous medium channel

Abstract

A study of time-dependent oscillatory fluid flow and heat transfer in a horizontal composite porous medium channel has been carried out. The channel walls are maintained at two different constant temperatures. The partial differential equations governing the flow and heat transfer are transformed to ordinary differential equations by making certain physical assumptions and closed-form solutions are obtained. Separate solutions for the porous medium and viscous fluid regions are obtained and these solutions are matched at the interface using suitable matching conditions. The closed-form solutions are evaluated numerically and the results are presented graphically for various values of flow governing parameters such as the permeability parameter, viscosity ratio, oscillation amplitude, conductivity ratio, Prandtl number and the Eckert number. The effect of periodic frequency on the flow is also depicted in tabular form.