Heat transfer and flows of thermal convection in a fluid-saturated rotating porous medium

Abstract

Thermal convection at the steady state for high Rayleigh number in a rotating porous half space is investigated. Taking into account the effect of rotation, Darcy equation is extended to incorporate the Coriolis force term in a rotating reference frame. The velocity and temperature fields of thermal convection are obtained by using the homotopy analysis method. The influences of Taylor number and Rayleigh number on the Nusselt number, velocity profile, and temperature distribution are discussed in detail. It is found that the Nusselt number decreases rapidly with the increase of Taylor number but tends to have an asymptotic value. Besides, the rotation can give rise to downward flow in contrast with the upward thermal convection.