Asymptotic analysis of electrohydrodynamic flow through a swarm of porous cylindrical particles

Abstract

The present article reveals the study of an electrohydrodynamic flow through a membrane composed of a swarm of porous layered cylindrical particles adopting a heat transfer approach. The configuration of the proposed theoretical model is segregated into two regions in which the region proximate to the solid core of the cylindrical particle is a porous region. However, a region surrounded by a porous region is a non-porous (clear fluid) region. The thermal equations are employed under steady-state conditions to establish the temperature distribution when heat conduction prevails over heat convection. The Brinkman and Stokes equations regulate fluid flow through a swarm of porous layered cylindrical particles in porous and non-porous regions, respectively. With the purpose of addressing an electric field in the fluid flow process through a swarm of porous layered cylindrical particles to understand the role of a Hartmann electric number, the momentum equation and the charge density are coupled and nonlinear. The nonlinear second-order differential equation governs the momentum equation and regulates fluid flow through a swarm of porous cylindrical particles. The solutions of the energy equations for both regions are analytically obtained. The asymptotic expansions of velocities for porous and non-porous regions have been derived using the perturbation technique for the small and large values of the nonlinearity parameter α. The effects of various parameters like Hartmann electric number, Grashof number, radiation parameter, viscosity ratio parameter, and porosity of the porous material on the hydrodynamical permeability, Kozeny constant of the membrane, and temperature are analyzed graphically. A noteworthy observation is that a rising Hartmann electric number, the ratio of electric force to the viscous force, enhances the velocity, which is relatively more significant for higher permeability and hence enhances the membrane permeability; however, decay in Kozeny constant is reported with a rising Hartmann electric number. Significant velocity and membrane permeability growth are described with a rising Grashof number, a ratio of thermal buoyancy and viscous forces. The observations from the present study hold promise for advancing our understanding of critical physical and biological applications, including wastewater treatment filtration processes, petroleum reservoir rocks, and blood flow through smooth muscle cells.