Forced convection in a fluid-saturated porous-medium channel with isothermal or isoflux boundaries

Abstract

We present a fresh theoretical analysis of fully developed forced convection in a fluid-saturated porous-medium channel bounded by parallel plates, with imposed uniform heat flux or isothermal condition at the plates. As a preliminary step, we obtain an ‘exact’ solution of the Brinkman-Forchheimer extension of Darcy's momentum equation for flow in the channel. This uniformly valid solution permits a unified treatment of forced convection heat transfer, provides the means for a deeper explanation of the physical phenomena, and also leads to results which are valid for highly porous materials of current practical importance.