Transport in Porous Media, Vol.67, No.2, 219-227, 2007
Coriolis effect on the stability of centrifugally driven convection in a rotating anisotropic porous layer subjected to gravity
We investigate natural convection in a fluid saturated rotating anisotropic porous layer subjected to centrifugal gravitational and Coriolis body forces. The Darcy model ( including the centrifugal, gravitational and Coriolis terms; and permeability anisotropy effects) and a modified energy equation ( including the effects of thermal anisotropy) is used in the current analysis. The linear stability theory is used to evaluate the critical Rayleigh number for the onset of convection in the presence of thermal and mechanical anisotropy. It is shown that the preferred solution comprises roll cells aligned parallel to the vertical z-axis. As a result, it is found that the Coriolis acceleration ( or Taylor number) and the gravitational term play no role in the stability of convection.
Keywords:mechanical anisotropy;thermal anisotropy;rotation;centrifugal Rayleigh number;gravitational Rayleigh number;Taylor number