Convective Transport through Porous Layers

Convective motions are a multi-physics phenomenon, in which flow and transport processes interact in a two-way coupling. The density of the fluid depends on the value of transport variable and this back-coupling leads to non-linear behaviour. For the classical constellation of a closed fluid container heated from below convective motions appear, when a critical threshold for the Rayleigh number is exceeded. The heat transfer due to convection is much higher than in the case of pure conduction. Here systems of three layers are examined in detail. Using numerical CFD modelling it is shown that in layered systems different convective flow patterns appear than in the single layer case. The number and constellation of convection cells characterize steady flow patterns. Using a parametric sweep over the relevant parameter range of layer Rayleigh numbers and layer thicknesses we determine diagrams that show the excess heat or mass transfer of the dominant convection patterns, measured by the Nusselt- or Sherwood numbers.