Boundary-layer analysis for forced convection in a porous domain above a flat plate

In this talk we elaborate on the structure of the hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layers

that are developed during forced flow in a porous domain situated above a flat plate. The main feature of these

layers is that are not self-similar. The porous medium is treated as a continuum with a given porosity.

The flow model incorporates a Darcy-Forchheimer law for the interphasial drag and takes into account

the thermal non-equilibrium between the two phases. First we derive the boundary-layer equations for the

problem in hand and elaborate on the profile of the free-stream velocity. Then we present numerical results

for both hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layers, obtained via the local non-similarity numerical method.

For sufficiently small external forcing, the thickness of the hydrodynamic boundary layer initially increases,

reaches a peak and then decreases towards its terminal value. This unusual feature is attributed to the rapid

decrease of the free-stream velocity due to the interphasial drag. With regard to the thermal layers, our computations show that

the temperature difference between the two phases is substantial, especially at short and moderate distances from the edge of

the flat plate. Also, thermal non-equilibrium results in significant difference between the thicknesses of the

thermal layers of the two phases.