Finite Element Analysis of Convective Heat Transfer Flow of a Micropolar Fluid through a Porous Medium in Channels/Ducts

The study of buoyancy driver convection flows through porous media has been stimulated by its application in several geophysical and engineering problems.Interests in understanding the connection transportation in porous material is increasing owing to the development of geothermal energy technology, high performance insulation for building and cold storage drying technology and many other areas. The theory of micro fluids, as developed by Eringen [6] has been a field of active research for the last few decades as this class of fluids represents mathematically many industrially important fluids like paints, blood, body fluids, polymers, colloidal fluids and suspension fluids. In this material points in a volume element can undergo motions about centers of mass along with deformation. The problem of simple micro fluid contains a system of 19 equations with 19 unknowns so that it becomes difficult to find solution. A subclass of thee fluids introduced by Erignen [7], is the micro polar fluids, which exhibit the micro rotational effects and micro rotational inertia under these assumptions deformation of the fluid microelements is ignored: nevertheless micro rotational effects are still present and surface and body couples are permitted. Here in the skew symmetric property of the gyration tensor is imposed mathematically in addition to a condition of micro isotropy, so that the system of 19 equations reduces to seven equations in seven unknowns.